Kobe Bryant, Who Kept Watching Karate Tapes When Young, Used Martial Arts Icon Bruce Lee to Help Influence His NBA Career

Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players ever to have played the game of basketball. The Los Angeles Lakers legend was the face of the franchise and the NBA for the better part of his career. Kobe was a dedicated basketball player who left everything on the court every time he played. He was a great scorer of basketball. He could take any shot and always backed himself to make these shots.

Along with being a great scorer, he was an exceptional defender, too. On his day, he could easily guard the other team’s best scorer. Kobe and his workout routines are the stuff of legend. He was the first one in for practice and was always the last person out. He was obsessed with making his craft better. Kob outworked the competition to outperform them in the game. A resurfaced article talked about how Kobe used martial arts legend, Bruce Lee, for his inspiration.

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Kobe said, “It’s about having the fundamental skills available so you can react in any situation… It seems Bruce Lee has nothing to do with basketball. To me, it has everything to do with basketball. There are a lot of similarities.”

He further said, “By doing so, no one knows what you are going to do next, therefore, they don’t know how to fight back. I’ve been working hard to infuse his principles of utility, agility, speed, and efficiency to my own training.”

Kobe Bryant – The Lakers legend

It is very rare for basketball players and especially the stars to finish their careers in one place. Stars become disgruntled with the team or the situation and eventually move, but Kobe never did. Even in all those years after Shaq, when the Lakers weren’t competitive, he stayed.

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It worked out for him and the Lakers when they acquired Pau Gasol in 2008, to go on a mini dynastic run again.

The Lakers went to three NBA Finals from 2008 to 2010. They would win back to back in 2009 and 2010. For his efforts, Kobe won the NBA Finals MVPs for both Finals. Let us know in the comments below your favorite Kobe memory.