Kobe Bryant’s passion for the game and will to win is one of his strongest characteristics, but also something that can rub people the wrong way.
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Fans see players like LeBron James or Kevin Durant and how they interact with teammates and assume that is the way it works for everyone. That isn’t quite the case for Kobe Bryant.
In a feature piece for Sports Illustrated, Bryant said that his leadership differs greatly from the fun and games people see on the court:
No its not like that. You talk to Lamar [Odom], Adam Morrison. We were at each other’s throats every day. Challenging each other, confronting each other. That’s how it gets done. But that’s hard because it’s uncomfortable right? It’s uncomfortable.
Bryant is obviously a different breed from most other players in the league. He thrives on competition and pushing his teammates to their limits to find out what they are made of.
He has already begun doing so with some of his teammates as he has worked out with Wesley Johnson and Nick Young on numerous occasions this off-season.
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Kobe is focused strictly on winning another championship and will do everything in his power to make that happen, even if he knows he won’t be the same player he was before.
The number of doubters of both Kobe himself and the Lakers as a whole continues to grow, giving Bryant all of the motivation he needs to push this team the only way he knows how.
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