The late basketball legend Kobe Bryant was renowned for his superhuman work ethic. He would demand that his teammates did the same. He wanted to win championships and he knew there was a price to pay.
NBA players Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade played on the 2008 Olympic team with Kobe. They told this Kobe story. “We’re in Las Vegas and we all come down for team breakfast at the start of the whole training camp,” Bosh said. “And Kobe comes in with ice on his knees and with his trainers and stuff. He’s got sweat drenched through his workout gear. And I’m like, ‘It’s 8 o’clock in the morning, man. Where [redacted] is he coming from?'”
Wade added: “Everybody else just woke up…We’re all yawning, and he’s already three hours and a full workout into his day.”
When somebody ask Kobe why he was so obsessed with preparation he said, “I always want my practice to be far harder than any game I play in. That way, I’m prepared to react to any situation by muscle memory. No hesitation.”
In the radio world, I tell new talent, “You can practice off the air like you’re on the air, but there’s no substitute for doing the real thing.” So, the challenge for us today, is to prepare diligently for whatever it is we have coming up. There is no substitute for “reps.” And when we put in the work, we’ll reap the reward in every way.
