Jerry West says ‘a lot of players’ have Kobe Bryant’s mentality, but not ‘the skill’
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J.C. Smith
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 25, 2019 11:03 pm    Post subject:

A big part of Kobe's mentality was how hard he trained both physically and in honing his skills. Half the battle is won off the court.
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 25, 2019 11:19 pm    Post subject:

venturalakersfan wrote:
unleasHell wrote:
I know Jerry WAS a Laker, but he is a Clipper now and any Jerry posts should be in the General Forum, NOT the Laker Forum...


I hate to shock you but Kobe is still involved with the Lakers


stop it, you're shocking me, ouch... 50 volts...zzzzzz
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:49 am    Post subject:

Very few people have anywhere close to Kobe's mentality.
Very few people have anything close to Kobe's skill.
Very few people have a shred of Kobe's work ethic.

None have all.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 4:08 am    Post subject:

Jerry has it backwards here.

Most all NBA players have some amount of mentality and skill just to be an NBA player. What set Kobe apart was how he approached the game (his mentality) that made him work endlessly on crafting his skill to the level it became.
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LandsbergerRules
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 4:48 am    Post subject:

Basketball-wise, the only thing of Kobe's many other players have are his physical attributes. He was a great athlete for sure, but there have been many players throughout the years who were bigger, faster, and could out-leap him. But his insane determination to get the absolute most out of his mind and body on the court was simply unparalleled. Just from pure physical ability, there are a number of players who could have been as great as he was, but lacked his rare mental component. Kobe was basically the NBA's version of Batman.
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Last edited by LandsbergerRules on Fri Jul 26, 2019 4:54 am; edited 2 times in total
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LandsbergerRules
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 4:50 am    Post subject:

Huey Lewis & The News wrote:
kobetimeeverytime wrote:
mentality on the court? yes there are a lot of players willing to take hero shots



>boiling Kobe's on-court discipline down to a desire to take "hero shots"

yeeeikes that's dumb


Agreed, Huey. For instance, a guy like Iverson was very competitive and had no problem taking big-game shots. However, the day-in, day-out insane work ethic Kobe possessed was far beyond AI, hence his infamous, "We talkin' practice?" rant.
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Pureshot77
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 6:06 am    Post subject:

LandsbergerRules wrote:
Huey Lewis & The News wrote:
kobetimeeverytime wrote:
mentality on the court? yes there are a lot of players willing to take hero shots



>boiling Kobe's on-court discipline down to a desire to take "hero shots"

yeeeikes that's dumb


Agreed, Huey. For instance, a guy like Iverson was very competitive and had no problem taking big-game shots. However, the day-in, day-out insane work ethic Kobe possessed was far beyond AI, hence his infamous, "We talkin' practice?" rant.


You can argue that the work ethic is "off the court" portion of the mentality. Kobe took difficult looking shots at times, but he actually spent countless hours working on those behind the cameras.
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danzag
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 6:09 am    Post subject:

LandsbergerRules wrote:
Huey Lewis & The News wrote:
kobetimeeverytime wrote:
mentality on the court? yes there are a lot of players willing to take hero shots



>boiling Kobe's on-court discipline down to a desire to take "hero shots"

yeeeikes that's dumb


Agreed, Huey. For instance, a guy like Iverson was very competitive and had no problem taking big-game shots. However, the day-in, day-out insane work ethic Kobe possessed was far beyond AI, hence his infamous, "We talkin' practice?" rant.


You see guys like Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson or even Carmelo Anthony...

Guys were toast by the time they hit 30 years old. Kobe was leading his team to 3 straight NBA Finals and still working like a sociopath.
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ContagiousInspiration
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 7:17 am    Post subject:

danzag wrote:
LandsbergerRules wrote:
Huey Lewis & The News wrote:
kobetimeeverytime wrote:
mentality on the court? yes there are a lot of players willing to take hero shots



>boiling Kobe's on-court discipline down to a desire to take "hero shots"

yeeeikes that's dumb


Agreed, Huey. For instance, a guy like Iverson was very competitive and had no problem taking big-game shots. However, the day-in, day-out insane work ethic Kobe possessed was far beyond AI, hence his infamous, "We talkin' practice?" rant.


You see guys like Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson or even Carmelo Anthony...

Guys were toast by the time they hit 30 years old. Kobe was leading his team to 3 straight NBA Finals and still working like a sociopath.



Ego vs Personal Integrity.
Kobe made his decision early..
Karl Malone asked out of the 1998 All-Star game because Kobe Bryant told him to 'get out of my way'

These self help people talk about what kind of rewards do you get for doing a "Good" job.. NO REWARDS.. that is what is expected of you!

Kobe made a Decision to be the very best he was capable of being.. words can't give me the ability to express how much I appreciate him for motivating many others to be their best also.

Something made me think of Chick Hearn just now.. another Laker whose excellence ranks right there with Kobe Bryant Sry got a bit emotional there..
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Goldenwest
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 7:23 am    Post subject:

Yeah, he’s got it backwards, it’s the mentality that set Kobe apart. Plenty of players with skill at that level (JR Rider always comes to mind)

First he says clippers are the best org he’s been with ( ) then he gets this Kobe evaluation totally backward..... maybe he needs to hang em up and retire
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Halflife
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 7:55 am    Post subject:

Goldenwest wrote:
.... maybe he needs to hang em up and retire

agree.

They didnt retain him at GSW because they didnt think he was doing anything other than giving the view of stability. I heard him about 4-5 yrs ago on DP show. he was getting names wrong and to be frank he sounded a bit senile. Jerry was great. the PG deal was going to get done by anyone the minute KL said he wanted him. OKC was ready (they say otherwise).
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PrairieAve
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 10:13 am    Post subject:

Skill isn't necessarily a gift or advantage that you're born with. It's learned and practiced toward achieving perfection. Those tools and their effectiveness come from an extreme dedication... and anti-social obsession, instead of just working it into your schedule. It sounds like West is in agreement without realizing it. Kobe is one of the most skilled players in the history of the league because of the "mentality."

If he wasn't mentally tough, he would have regressed in the time period when the NBA tried to distance itself from him after the Colorado trial, and before the lucrative China market cheered his name.
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LandsbergerRules
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:02 pm    Post subject:

Yup, Kobe would've reached a ceiling somewhere around T-Mac, Vince, and a number of other athletic perimeter players if not for his obsession to be the greatest.
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DShotMaker1824
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:11 pm    Post subject:

Not the best starting mentality, but maybe the best overall?
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:12 pm    Post subject:

Inspector Gadget wrote:
The only guy who comes close to Kobe’s mentality and skill is Kyrie Irving.


Kyrie Irving has Kobe's skill and mentality? Do you truly believe this?
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:53 pm    Post subject:

PrairieAve wrote:
Skill isn't necessarily a gift or advantage that you're born with. It's learned and practiced toward achieving perfection. Those tools and their effectiveness come from an extreme dedication... and anti-social obsession, instead of just working it into your schedule. It sounds like West is in agreement without realizing it. Kobe is one of the most skilled players in the history of the league because of the "mentality."

If he wasn't mentally tough, he would have regressed in the time period when the NBA tried to distance itself from him after the Colorado trial, and before the lucrative China market cheered his name.

this is accurate and important for people to remember in a lot of these nba related debates. fans tend to go extreme black/white with these arguments.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 4:27 pm    Post subject:

24ways2die wrote:
I think it’s the other way around. They have skill but not the mentality


There are some like that too....
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 5:02 pm    Post subject:

lakerdynasty5.0 wrote:
24ways2die wrote:
I think it’s the other way around. They have skill but not the mentality


There are some like that too....

there are NONE like that. name some.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 7:24 pm    Post subject:

I think there may be some that have the talent, but it takes lots of time given to training to harness it into skill. I think that's where the work ethic aka mentality comes in.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 7:41 pm    Post subject:

unleasHell wrote:
venturalakersfan wrote:
unleasHell wrote:
I know Jerry WAS a Laker, but he is a Clipper now and any Jerry posts should be in the General Forum, NOT the Laker Forum...


I hate to shock you but Kobe is still involved with the Lakers


stop it, you're shocking me, ouch... 50 volts...zzzzzz


Ignore the troll. Nobody cares about this 60yr old dude so he comes to LG to seek attention

What a pathetic life
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 7:42 pm    Post subject:

Pureshot77 wrote:
I think there may be some that have the talent, but it takes lots of time given to training to harness it into skill. I think that's where the work ethic aka mentality comes in.

if you just take these abstract concepts of talent and mentality out of it...there has been nobody that plays the game as high a level as kobe. not mj. maybe wilt, but hard to say. my eyes have never seen a better basketball player. no abstract stuff, just the moves and the playing.
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Pureshot77
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 7:52 pm    Post subject:

SuperboyReformed wrote:
Pureshot77 wrote:
I think there may be some that have the talent, but it takes lots of time given to training to harness it into skill. I think that's where the work ethic aka mentality comes in.

if you just take these abstract concepts of talent and mentality out of it...there has been nobody that plays the game as high a level as kobe. not mj. maybe wilt, but hard to say. my eyes have never seen a better basketball player. no abstract stuff, just the moves and the playing.


Yep, watching Kobe play basketball is very aesthetically pleasing.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 8:42 pm    Post subject:

The guy's not an omniscient basketball oracle. We could just let this go...
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 9:42 am    Post subject:

I think West was essentially right. Remember he saw the high schooler in a one-on-one workout with Coop before obtaining the draftee. It was reported that he told Mitch words to the effect to go get him, he's already better than anyone else we have. (Threatt, Eddie Jones, Nick the Quick, AP, Cedric, Lynch.)

I think that West's observation speaks to Kobe's obvious, unusual and still-budding physical ability and very much less to the kid's mental approach to the game.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 10:27 am    Post subject:

PrairieAve wrote:
Skill isn't necessarily a gift or advantage that you're born with. It's learned and practiced toward achieving perfection. Those tools and their effectiveness come from an extreme dedication... and anti-social obsession, instead of just working it into your schedule. It sounds like West is in agreement without realizing it. Kobe is one of the most skilled players in the history of the league because of the "mentality."

If he wasn't mentally tough, he would have regressed in the time period when the NBA tried to distance itself from him after the Colorado trial, and before the lucrative China market cheered his name.



I doubt Jerry was giving much thought to the nuances of the words skill and mentality, so I wouldn't assume that all the semantics exercises in this thread capture what he was trying to say in his short, off-the-cuff statement. For all I know, by "skill" he simply meant God-given ability and by "mentality" he meant competitive fire.
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