Kobe is so obsessed with pushing every detail to the limit

In the summer of 1995, Kobe Bryant went to the gym every morning at five o’clock and stayed until seven o’clock at night. That summer, Kobe, who had grown to 196 centimeters, had two major gains.

One: He, who had previously played every position in high school league, decided he wanted to play guard. “My future is in the NBA, and I have the physical condition to play guard.”
Two: He learned the “Sam Gord dribble” by playing with New York streetball player Gord Sam Gord, who was half a year older than him.
Years later, Sam Gaudet would go on to play professional basketball in Zhejiang, China, but that’s a different story.
Kobe tried to be the ultimate high school player — and he did: In his four years of high school, he surpassed the all-time Pennsylvania record for points scored: that was set by Chamberlain.

Kobe scored 21 points on Jan. 3, 1997, on 6-of-10 shooting and 9-of-10 free throws against the Sacramento Kings. Eddie Jones was injured in late January.
On Jan. 28, Kobe, 18 1/2, made his debut for the Lakers. He set the record for the youngest player to start in NBA history at that time.
In the ring of youngest, he reached the limit of his time.

Coach Del Harris recalled twelve years later that at that time, Kobe would walk up to him and say.
“Coach, you give me the ball, get everybody to pull back, and I can take out any player in the league single-handedly.”
“Coach, I can take out anybody back to back single-handedly, you just give me the opportunity.”
Coach Harris all but laughed helplessly:.
“Kobe, I know you can, but I can’t blow the Sharks away and give you the box to go solo!”

In Game 5 of the 1997 Western Conference Semifinals, Postman scored 32 points and 20 rebounds, and Stockton scored 24 points and 10 assists. The two old heroes of the NBA’s top 50 were steady and accurate in extinguishing the Lakers’ comeback, not giving the Sharks a chance to fight back.
At the end of this game, Kobe became the main character.

With 1:46 left in the game, the Sharks fouled the mailman and were ejected from the game with the Lakers leading, however, the army was too nervous to shoot the ball as the whole team was too nervous. Thus.
The two sides were tied at 89, and Kobe picked up the ball amidst the chaos to end the Jazz’s run. There were 11 seconds left. The game was tied in the final moments. Harris decided.
“Kobe, you shoot this ball!”

The 18-year-old rookie Kobe, dribbling across the half-court, facing the Jazz’s Bryan Russell, dribbling in place, holding the ball in his right hand and breaking in step, accelerating, stopping sharply, shaking Russell — but his center of gravity was too big to grasp when he jumped to shoot, and the ball came out, too low. The ball was too low.
The 48-minute game ended and the teams went into overtime. Coach Harris pursed his lips and clapped his hands.

At the beginning of overtime, Kobe made a three from the left wing, another three non-strike.
Three minutes later, Kobe made a magnificent dramatic change of direction from the right wing, broke through the basket and tossed a shot to hit the board, leaving the Lakers down by one point, 93–94. With 40 seconds left in the game, Lakers 93–96, Kobe made another three-pointer — a triple miss.

After another three-point miss, the Jazz won 98–93, thus eliminating the Lakers 4–1.
This was the first time that Kobe attempted to take over the game and be a hero after the Sharks went down, and failed to do so.

Nevertheless, Coach Harris gave Kobe enough trust, and Shark also pushed Kobe’s courage:.
“In those days, Kobe was the only guy who had the guts to step up and shoot the ball!”
At that moment the shark did not know that in three years, Kobe even his shot to steal the ……

In February 1998, Kobe said.
“I learned the step-back jumper from the Big Dream Olajuwon tapes; the baseline shot, from Oscar Robertson; and from Pearl Monroe I learned the fake shimmy.” And, from Magic Johnson? “I learned to play the game with genuine enthusiasm.”

In February 2000, Rick Fox said this about Kobe.
“He no longer treats the game as an individual one-man show.”

Kobe’s defense, meanwhile, began to impress the entire league, with old school coach Larry Brown tsk-tsking.
“Kobe is a role model for the younger generation. Every year he’s learning to be solid, and now he’s not just a fancy dunker anymore, he’s a solid NBA player.”

In Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals that year, against the Trail Blazers, the Lakers’ last-minute offense was as follows.
Kobe caught the ball at the top of the arc, shot fake, let go of Pippen and sharply stopped for a shot, 72–75, down by three.
Kobe dribbled on the left wing, went around cover, broke through the middle, dribbled wobbly at the hips and hit a shot, 83–79, Lakers up by 4.

On the next turn, Kobe faced Pippen, one of the greatest defenders of all time, dribbled low, right handed, switched hips to left handed, suddenly changed direction and broke through, stepping into the first step inside. All eyes were on him, waiting for him to attack.
However, Kobe did not single out: he tossed the ball high up.

The Blazers generals turned around in amazement to see a big monster of crow and gold rise up in the air, thundering and pressing the ball into the basket. It was the Shark. Kobe passed the ball to the Shark at the critical moment, and the inside out shot made it 85–79. The win was locked. The golden fans screamed and stood up, the Blazers passed each other the “do you think we still have a chance” look …… shark round eyes open mouth, towards Kobe ran wildly, and Kobe reached out to his ears, enjoy the cheers.

Up to this point, he is finally an outstanding face basket attacker.
The next step was to become a key killer.

In Game 4 of the 2001 Western Conference Semifinals, Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings, Kobe scored 48 points.
Flashy change of direction break at the top of the arc, high jump after a missed shot, and a frontcourt rebound to make up for it.
Assists weak side Fisher on a three pointer.
Grabbed the backcourt rebound and then broke through for a follow-through layup.
The weak side copied the ball and scored with a follow-through shot — Kobe showed his teeth and showed his killing spirit.
The top of the arc continuously dodged the King’s defensive stem Christie with a deflection shimmy and dunked over Divac’s head — the same Divac he traded with himself five years ago.
The Sharks are there by default: on the road, the initiative belongs to Kobe. He can dictate the ball on his own in rebounding, he can solo. Kobe even went and taunted the Kings’ ace Chris Webber, going toe-to-toe with the 216-centimeter Divac after a foul. He loves the wrath of his opponents.
After each score, Kobe chewed his gum hard, shook his head viciously and smiled.
“You guys suck!”

Just beating the opponent doesn’t get him over the hump. He must provoke the opponent’s anger, see the opponent rushing at him viciously, he will have the motivation to continue to abuse opponents.
In the second quarter, Kobe made a magnificent turnaround to shake Christie and scored additional free throws against the King’s two inside linebackers. The Sharks started calling for him from the bench: “Go on, man!” In the third quarter, Shark caught the ball inside, waited for Kobe to go off, passed back, and Kobe scored with a demonic high-handed lob. Seemingly motivated by the shot, Kobe understood: the Sharks allowed him to play on his own.

In the final moments of the game, Kobe dribbled through the King’s double clutch, executed an unbelievable backward turn at the baseline, lagged horizontally, and sent the ball to the board with his right hand to score, shooting his 15th personal shot of the game. For the whole game, Kobe played 48 minutes, shooting 15 of 29, with 48 points, 16 rebounds and 3 assists.
In the words of Kings Christie: “He bounces amazingly, like a stilt stick”.
His hard-working mid-range shot, his lightning-fast first step, his gorgeous one-on-one, and his killer aura were too much for the Kings to handle.

In the 2002 Finals, Kobe averaged 8.8 points per game in the fourth quarter and shot 63% from the field. The Zen Master complimented him, “We relied on Kobe’s maturity, his leadership, and his ability to take over the game. He and the Sharks are such a pair!”

The next step was to become a muscle monster.

In the summer of 2002, Kobe put 7 kilos on himself and worked hard on his back-side singles and long-range shooting. His whole body got wider. Once light and graceful, he became a muscle monster.
His style also began to change. When he first joined the industry, he was a light and airy attacker; in the Lakers’ first championship, he was an all-around breakout player plus a defensive cog; in the last two championships, he was a ferocious face-up attacker and a high-flying mid-range shooter, playing with elaborate and flashy moves.
But what about 2002? He practiced a high jump, high exit point, slightly backward lag aerial shot, specifically to deal with the opponent’s high intensity defense. His right-handed breakaway jump shot is even different from his left-handed breakaway jump shot — the left-handed breakaway jump shot is more smooth, just collect the ball; for the right-handed breakaway jump shot, he usually starts with his feet parallel and twists in the air to his right shoulder in front (and often kicks his right leg to keep his balance).
From there, he can hit the ball from any angle of the court, at any time. His range is so long that it is almost unlimited.

In 2005, he built up a crossover muscle and an unstoppable post-up shot that allowed him to crush his opponents with his back: — The ones taller than him, with more speed.
He could run over his opponents with his back: — Those taller than him were not as fast as him, so he could run over them with his shoulder.
— The lower than his center of gravity, Kobe can turn around and shoot at will.

In the offensive end, you rarely see the dramatic side-pull dribbling of his early years. Low-post skills have grown, strength has strengthened, and he knows more about making subtle moves with his shoulders. He’s hard to distinguish between his right and left hands, and can even shoot threes with his left hand. So when dribbling, his shoulder sway was gentle but reasonable, and he could get his opponents behind him in a very small space.
By the age of 27, his bounce and speed were not as good as they were in 2001, but his strength, flexibility and coordination were gradually reaching the top of the league. His stretching and weight control is at his fingertips, so when he runs without the ball or starts, his shifting and weight height changes can make followers feel like they are following a snake.

Pair that with his 2,000 shot practice sessions per day in the summer and his years and years of one-on-one self-sculpting. On the offensive end, there is almost no move he can’t make. At the end of the day, when he encounters a different defense, his body switches to an offensive attitude like a reflex, its fast and doesn’t even need to be adjusted. Whether it’s back to back, face up cuts, running without the ball and then catching the ball around coverage looking to attack, he has a myriad of tricks to show. His range extends as far as anywhere in the half court, and, he has incredible physicality — not so much to support 30 or even 40 shots per game.

He’s good enough at any one skill, and when he blends it all together, he becomes a unique skill showcase in the league.

What made those two scoring champion seasons in 2005–07 special was his outbursts: 62 points in three quarters against Dallas, 81 points in a game against Toronto, and four straight 50-pointers in the spring of 2007 …… when the feeling was.
He can really score 50 points whenever he wants.

What’s next? It’s the sculpting and simplification of countless moves.

In 2008, Brian Shaw said that if you make a new move during practice, Kobe will ask for another one. “Well, that move you just did, do it again!” Then he learned it.
What’s even scarier, Devin George said, is Kobe’s ability to add moves to himself whenever he wants.
While most players practice their moves on their own, in practice, Kobe will use a move in practice one day, and the next day in a game, just make it happen.

And the next step?
He wants to be an attacker who doesn’t make things difficult for his teammates.
After the Lakers formed the Twin Towers in 2008, Kobe used a perimeter jumper for more than 70% of his attacks per game, he moved a lot above the free throw line, and his occasional movement below the free throw line was a quick crossover shot.
It’s clear: with less wing activity and box-and-box activity, he leaves room to move for the twin towers and makes room for Ariza and Odom to cut open.

This is the sacrifice Kobe made.
He accommodated the twin towers by reducing his own personal breakdowns and trying to solve problems with clean jump shots.

And the final step?
Become a monster who can score without his teammates pulling away?
At the beginning of the 2009–10 season, Kobe found a new position for himself.
Leaning on the baseline from mid-range, asking for the ball on his back, and one-upping opponents.
After a summer of hard practice with the Big Dream, his back-body pace rounded out as intended, worthy of the league’s best back-basket offensive player. Originally, according to his original shooting, pace and overall skills, there was no need for hand-holding, all Da Meng did was to give a little advice and guidance.
In the previous two seasons, he had gotten used to a static mid-range in-place test step. Now he’s incorporating tricks such as back to the body, pullbacks and baseline flips. He’s playing more and more clean and fluid and lifting heavy.
He’s starting to rely more on technique, rhythm, wiggle and feel, and no longer breaks out like the electric bursts of his day.

From skinny, to fit, to muscle monster, to lean.
From face-basket breakout demon, to kaleidoscopic attack weapon, to static back-body demon.
From being a one-trick pony who needs teammates to pull away, or even for the sharks to get out of the way, to the Black Mamba who accommodates Bynum.
How many roles are there?

After conquering various basketball skills, he wanted to go further.

In December 2009, Kobe tore the tip of his right index finger twice, and on Dec. 12, while catching a pass from Jordan Farmar, he aggravated the injury and had to wear a bandage. Team doctors said Kobe developed a shattered bone in the ligament of his index finger. He then declined surgery and six weeks of recuperation. When his middle ring finger joint began to inflame, he instead didn’t care. He switched to using his thumb and middle finger to control the ball and adjust his shooting hand as much as possible. For the average player, the shooting hand shape is a lifelong constant. But for him, it’s just a little adjustment.
Compared to his fingers, injuries to his left ankle, right knee, back spasms, groin, etc., are no longer on his mind. Injuries have simply become a habit for him.

With only seven fingers free to move in this way ……
December 4, 2009, Staples Arena. The last 3.2 seconds, the Lakers were down 105–107. Kobe caught the ball outside the three-point line and turned around to try to get away, with Devin Wade in hot pursuit. Kobe was pressured to take a step outside the three-point line and the angle had been blocked. With the clock about to run out, Kobe jumped sideways, twisted his body, and was completely too late to set up his shot, almost throwing it across his body, and the ball flew out and scraped the board. Three point shot. Zero-second shutout. 108–107, Lakers win.

Milwaukee, Dec. 16. Kobe had scored 25 points in the second half and into overtime. 105–106 down, the Lakers had one last chance to make a run. Kobe dribbled down the left side of the court. In regulation time, he had just dropped a jukebox.
“I shot that ball with my usual hand and it didn’t go in, so I changed my hand.” He talks about his right index finger, which is covered in broken bones, like it’s an inanimate gun.
“I’m glad I threw it in, otherwise it would have been a waste of my training.”
Here’s how he made it: He dribbled to the front court with his back to the Bucks’ Charlie Bell, then hit a flip-back jumper. 107 to 106, he shut out the Bucks.

January 1, 2010, Staples Arena. Once down by 20 points, the Lakers trailed to just 106–108 to the Kings with four seconds left. Zen Master called a three-point play.
“The King guarded the joint defense and the sideline was unguarded.” Kobe said, “So Phil just asked for the ball to come to me and shoot it in.”
Before that, Kobe had scored 36 points and made 4 of 6 from three. The Kings forgot about that. The ball was quickly passed to the left and Kobe took the shot with a very quick maneuver and the whistle blew. The three points went through the net, 109–108.

Feb. 24, 2010, Memphis. Kobe returned from a five-game absence due to a recuperative ankle injury. A three-pointer with 54 seconds left brought the Lakers to a 96-all tie. Then, four seconds before the end, he scored his 32nd point with a three-pointer. The Lakers settled the Grizzlies 99–98.
“He continues to make those types of shots.” Grizzlies head coach Hollins shook his head, “Great players make great plays. It hurts, but you have to praise him.”
Do you get tired of the feeling?
“Every time I get a shutout, it’s like the first time.” №24 Black Mamba Snake smiles.
“It feels like Hollywood. It’s fun. It’s my responsibility to play well when it matters. I love it.”

March 9, 2010, Staples Arena. The Lakers, fresh off three straight losses, were pushed to the final moments by the Toronto Raptors. A Chris Bosh three tied the score at 107, leaving Kobe with 9.5 seconds. Two days ago in Orlando, Kobe had just missed a kill shot.
This time?
“It’s my responsibility to do that, to end the game.” Kobe shrugged his shoulders.
He dribbled to the corner, faced the Raptors defense and sliced a shot across the opposite fingertips. Personal 32nd point of the game, 14th point of the fourth quarter. The Lakers settled the Raptors 109 to 107.

Add in the game-winning shot at Boston Garden on Jan. 31, and that was Kobe Bryant’s record for the 2009–10 regular season. His shutout gave the Lakers six straight wins — and, with only seven fingers to move.

For unusual players, the shooting hand is constant. But for Kobe, the various shooting positions, just a little adjustment.
For example, the three-pointer that killed the King, his shooting posture was very atypical.

He tried to deal with the injury more than once, but like his knee injury: “Let’s deal with it when we win the championship,” and got over it. in the summer of 2010, he planned to take a break and went to ask for a surgical opinion. The answer.
The arthritis in his right index finger was already very bad. An arthroscopic surgery or a break in treatment would not solve it.
Simply put, similar to the dark humor of “Sabonis was 33 years old when his knee was 133 years old,” Kobe’s right hand was already very old. Chronic illness, chronic fatigue, accumulation of fatigue, and: overuse.

On July 23, 2010, he underwent surgery on his right knee. In fact, the knee injury had been holding him back from moving around last season. 2010 Western Conference Finals Game 1, against the Suns, he blasted 40 points on 13-of-23 shooting, 12-of-11 free throws, and he moved much more freely than he had in the previous two series. The reason: He pumped out knee fluid. During the Finals, he felt like he was playing on one left leg. And his thoughts were “get through two weeks of the Finals, get the championship, and then think about the knee.”
For others, the injury was a hindrance. For him, it’s a twisted motivation.
In fact, all obstacles to overcome are motivation for him.
No matter how intimidatingly those obstacles come crashing down ……

Kobe has a strange habit.
He would pretend to be casual about things that he was clearly dug in.

For example, Fox and the Sharks agreed that the 2000 Kobe was “trying to fit in,” but Kobe refused to admit that he was deliberately fitting in.
“I’ve been doing that for the first couple of years, but this year people are not reacting the same way!”

In 2004, he said, “I don’t care if the sharks say I shoot a lot,” and then didn’t shoot for half the game.
At heart, he is a man who wants to overcome all obstacles, and the more the outside world says he can’t overcome, the more he will overcome to show you.

In the summer of 2006, Kobe, who was playing alone, put on the face of the Black Mamba to the media.
“I don’t care if you guys like me or not.”
Those were the two years he got the scoring title and the two years the Lakers were eliminated in the first round. Without teammates, he had to fight alone, alone against the world.

Then came May 7, 2008, when the regular season MVP was announced. Kobe poised himself to face the questioning reporters, calling the award a heavenly blessing and honor.
“It’s like being in Hollywood, it’s like being in a movie. I couldn’t have won this award on my own. I don’t even know how to thank my teammates. They’re my guys, they’re my brothers. Let’s all get ready for tomorrow …… I didn’t know this award would end up going to me, and I’m surprised that I’ve played well the last few seasons, but our team hasn’t been this good. Things just happen naturally.”

Brian Shaw, who has worked with Shark and Kobe, said.
“He’s become a better teammate now than he was in his past championship days. He’s become more mature. He really wasn’t a good teammate in the past. But there’s no one who gives more effort than he does. So today he did. He didn’t really play with his teammates off the court in the past. But now, as far as I know, he’s always having dinner with his teammates.”

Odom also feels that he gets a lot of credit for fixing the atmosphere on the team: “I hired a Hawaiian cook, Sam Joy, who is the best chicken cook in the world!”
Yet we all know that in the 2008–10 season, the heart of the Lakers was Kobe: he would listen to his teammates’ jokes and make exaggerated laughter; he would still gaze at them with a look of intent to eat them when they missed key shots. Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton both feel the Lakers atmosphere is good.
“We don’t go back to our respective houses after practice. We eat together, and Kobe, of course, goes with us.

Kobe even shook hands with the Sharks at the All-Star game in 2009.
Does this mean Kobe has really become a Mr. Nice Guy?
Not really.

When he got his fifth title in 2010, Kobe said as follows.
“This is the sweetest, sweetest win because it was the Celtics we beat. My teammates held me up.”
And.
“I’ve got one more ring than the Sharks. You all know what kind of guy I am. I don’t forget anything.”
For him, “being a good teammate” is as much of a challenge as “developing a good skill.

How many roles has Kobe Bryant been through?
Paranoid genius, teenage dunker, successful young talent, feud with the Sharks, Defensive Player of the Year, low point, criticism, falling apart with the Sharks, sinner in the Zen Master’s Last Season, picking himself up, rising up, scoring king, 81 points.
№8 Kobe.
Then regular season MVP, Finals MVP. from youngest superstar, to Havlicek-style evergreen, plus Larry Bird-style self-skilled perfection. West-esque Mr. Key. The most durable Laker.
№24 Kobe.

Kobe tries to conquer every role and make the best of each one. When he started in 1996, he said, “I want to be the best player I can be.

Even before Kobe won his first championship, Rick Fox saw it clearly.
“Kobe will keep attacking you until he eats you alive.”
“Jordan likes to overpower everyone else in everything, while Kobe is focused on conquering himself. He’ll take down other competitors just because those guys, happen to be on the same track as him.”

Kobe has been trying to play every role to the top, never ending.
Any opponent can be defeated, only his own self who refuses to give up, refuses to let go of himself.
Kobe’s real opponent, is Kobe himself.