I had the pleasure of meeting Kobe Bryant this weekend at the House of Hoops in the North Riverside Mall this weekend. The House of Hoops launched Kobe's new basketball shoe at the store this weekend. The Los Angeles Lakers played the Chicago Bulls this weekend and the Lakers stayed in Chicago before traveling to Oklahoma City for their game on Tuesday night. One of my best friends, Todd Ambers, is the manager of the House of Hoops- Chicago and coordinated the event and provided me with the opportunity for me to meet Kobe.
Kobe was a great person and a joy to speak with. His basketball intellect is extremely high and I asked him a few questions about playing for Phil Jackson, running the triangle offense and how he stays ahead of the curve on the court himself. Kobe explained to me that he does some form of sports performance and lifts weights daily. In addition, he shoots and MAKES 500 jump shots daily. He even does this workout on game days! I was amazed but not surprised because he clearly strives to be the best. I told Kobe that I worked with youth basketball players at the Chicago Bulls/ White Sox Training Academy in Lisle, Illinois and wanted to give them some advice from him. Kobe replied, "It is imperative to work on your game. Everyday that you don't, someone is gaining ground on you. There is no substitute for hard work and hard work overrides talent."
I had the pleasure of playing basketball with Michael Jordan when he made his second comeback to the NBA and he had the same work ethic. Kobe Bryant is the one NBA player that appears to have the desire and skill to achieve some of the milestones the Michael Jordan did while he was in the NBA. In my opinion, Michael Jordan is still the best to EVER play the game though. Michael's lifetime average of 32.3 points a game and six world championships will always hold a cornerstone in basketball history. He was also a Chicago Bull!
I am appreciative to have had the opportunity to meet Kobe Bryant but mostly to have had the opportunity to converse with him. I enjoyed speaking with him about basketball and having similar basketball philosophies.
Remember, there is no substitute for hard work!
Yours in Basketball,
Coach Stewart
