Kobe Bryant’s legendary and borderline psychotic work ethic is well known. But despite the recent retiree’s legacy as that type of player, most fans take for granted just how competitive he was.
Enter Tyson Chandler to tell you all you need to know about that. Chandler, now with the Phoenix Suns, talked to Paul Coro of AZ Central and gave the ultimate story about his former Olympic teammate:
“The basketball team walked in line to get their food,” Chandler said. “Me and him (Bryant) were sitting at the table and he’s like, ‘I gotta go, I gotta go.” I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ He’s like, “I can’t be in here man. Got my blood boiling.” I was like, “Your blood boiling about what? What are you talking about?’ He was like, “We’re around all these athletes, man, I can’t see them, man. I want to just take them right now.” I’m like, ‘We’re in the cafeteria, brother. I don’t know where you are right now. I’m in the cafeteria about to eat.’
“But for him, he got any competitive edge that he could take on. It was just kill. It was go time for him. I personally never around another athlete like that. His switch was on at all times.
“We ate and he didn’t talk to nobody. We left and, of course, all of them wanted to take pictures with him and he was having none of it. His game had begun already.”
This story tells you all you need to know about Kobe Bryant. Even when he was teaming up with the best and brightest of his NBA peers, he could not manage to stay away from the competitive spirit.
That same characteristic helped Kobe become one of the greatest players of all time and a five-time champion. I would say things worked out well for the Lakers legend.
