Hating On Practice: What Kobe Bryant & Allen Iverson Have In Common

October 19 07

I always thought Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant had lots in common. The Answer and Black Mamba are dynamic scorers, capable of lifting me off my lazy boy with their swooping drives and fade-away jumpers. And I have witnessed first-hand how they polarize NBA fans-some of my friends defend these two to the death and others hate on them with a passion that borders on insanity.

Today, I realized Iverson and Bryant have something else in common: a healthy disdain for practice. Yes that thing that occurs between games. Take another look at Iverson eloquently expressing his views on the importance of practice …

Today, Peter Vecsey of the N.Y. Post reports that Phil Jackson banned Bryant from Tuesday’s practice because he was unhappy with his work habits last season:

WAY I hear it, Phil Jack son banned Kobe Bryant from being around the Lakers Tuesday when his petulant VIP - offended that owner Jerry Buss alerted the Los Angeles media he was available in an equitable trade - informed him he wouldn’t be practicing, for the third straight day, because he wanted to rest his legs, knee, bruised ego, whatever.

"I don’t want you riding the exercise bike in front of the team," Jackson hipped Bryant, according to a source. "There’s nothing wrong with your legs. I need you to be part of the team. I need to come to practice and work hard. And I need you to come to games and play defense."

Last season, Inaction Jackson felt Bryant had gotten a little lazy on the sidelines and at practice. In his considered opinion, he and his coaching staff were too easy, too soft on the players, especially Mr. Big Stuff.

This is the first I’ve heard of Bryant slacking in practice. I thought he was like James Brown-you know, the hardest working man in NBA-show-business. Every Kobe commercial shows him lifting, running, and practicing with an intensity that makes Rocky seem lazy. And yes, that includes Rocky Four, where Balboa trains in the sub-arctic wilderness of Siberia before taking down Drago in Moscow.

If true, this report shows that the dysfunctional Lakers have accomplished the impossible-they have broken Bryant’s Type-A spirit. The game’s greatest keener is now a slacker. Great work Dr. Buss. Hopefully, a trade occurs quickly and this saga finally ends.

Do you think Bryant is a bad practice player? Get at us in the comment box below with your thoughts.

Click here to read and subscribe to Oly Sandor’s NBA Blog.

8 Comments: Hating On Practice: What Kobe Bryant & Allen Iverson Have In (...)

Posted by
JKidd
on 10.20.2007

kobe is not a slacker. think of it this way. if you busted your a-------everyday at work, and your boss surrounds you with a bunch of incompetent clowns, then proceeds to tell everyone that you may be laid off, would you feel motivated to continue to work hard? just look at how kobe did in the fiba championships when given an opportunity to play with other players of his caliber. i’m not a big kobe fan per se, but one thing i will say, he is a hard worker. no one gets to be that good without being a hard worker. .

Posted by
this s**t just got rEAl
on 10.19.2007

well, how would anyone feel after being dissed by the team he gives up everything for night in and night out, during games and practice? kobe is not a slacker he works hard all the time, but i would feel a bit deflated too if i had to play with this team that has...essentially, no fire...he’s not lazy, he’s not a slacker, he’s friggin depressed as hell, he’s frustrated, he’s tired, maybe not physically but mentally, buss and the lakers have done nothing to help kobe do his job, lied to him, and now put his a** on the trading block (of course, thats what he wanted anyway, but that’s beside the point)...ai....man, wut an idiot...there was not one intelligent word in that response...for someone named the ’answer’ that was a pretty crappy answer to a question...so sad so sad .

Posted by
sir charles
on 10.19.2007

according to caron butler kobe is one of the 3 hardest workers in the league the other two apparently being dwayne wade his former teamate and current teammate gilber arenas. - sir charles .

Posted by
Keepin Score
on 10.19.2007

Kobe is bitter about not having his way. He really doesn’t want to leave LA, he just wants management to surround him with some quality players to make a legit run. So hearing what Dr. Buss said took a hit on Kobe’s ego, and now he wants to sit out of practice to heal it. Ahh poor Kobe, can’t have his way. There is a God! The Lakers 1, Kobe 0 .

Posted by

on 10.19.2007

Where did you find that damn Rocky clip ... burn it ... burn it I say! .

Posted by
Truthfully Speaking
on 10.19.2007

LOL! no doubt the person below me gave the best comment of the year. They are so right, and I’m gald they exposed him word for word so you see read and see how ridiculous that clown A.I. sounds. He is a talented player, but not very bright, and has no training in speech or Public relations whatsoever. .

Posted by
Kids say the darndest things!
on 10.19.2007

Classic Quote For The Wrong Reasons: "It’s easy to talk about, it’s easy to sum it up, when you just talk about practice. We sittin in here , I’m suppose to be the franchise player, and we in here talkin about practice. I mean listen, we talkin bout practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game. We talkin bout practice. I know I’m supposed to be there, I know I’m supposd to lead by example. I know that, and I’m not shovin it aside, you know like it don’t mean anything. I know it’s important, I do. I honestly do. But we talkin bout practice. We talkin bout practice. We ain’t talkin bout the game, we talkin bout practice man. When you come into the arena, and you see me play, you see me play don’t you? You see me give everything I got right? But we talkin bout practice right now. We talkin bout practice, man look, I hear you, it’s funny to me too. I mean, it’s strange, it’s strange to me too. But we talkin bout practice man. We not even talkin bout the game, the actual game, when it matters. We talkin bout practice." My Quick Take: Kids please don’t say things like this at practice or games, it’s very stupid, not only do sound dumb while you do it, you look dumb doing it to. This is a Public Service Announcement from.. The Common Sense Foundation .

Posted by

on 10.19.2007

We talking Bout Practice ... practice Son LOL That clip never gets old ever ... .

Post your comment:

No profanity or inaproppriate remarks. All i.p. addresses will be saved and abuse/hate posts will be reported to providers and authorities as part of the anti-spam act of 2003, thank you for posting comments on the articles only.

	About Oly Sandor
Daily take on NBA Oly Sandor is an NBA analyst and sports journalist based out of Vancouver, Canada.After years of the free-lance game, Oly Sandor is bringing his unique brand of NBA analysis exclusively to (...) More

Hating On Practice: What Kobe Bryant & Allen Iverson Have In Common

AboutOly Sandor

About
Oly Sandor