Kobe Bryant News: Horry Praises Kobe’s Winning Mentality

In the early 2000’s, the Lakers were usually playing in June for an NBA title. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to three straight championships, the last team to really be considered a dynasty.

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The Lakers not only had the two-headed monster of Shaq and Kobe, but they had excellent role players who were equally responsible for brining three titles to Los Angeles. One of those players was Robert Horry, who was known as “Big Shot Bob” because of his countless clutch shots down the stretch.

Horry wrote a piece for the Players’ Tribune and talked a little about what it was like to play with Kobe early on in his career. Horry raved about Kobe’s dedication to the game and his competitiveness:

"He would never stop. It was incredible. He practiced until one day, a couple months later, he finally won. If you literally said, “Kobe, I bet you can’t make five in a row by dropping the ball and kicking it in from half court,” that motherfucker would go out there and practice it until he could do it. And that’s what people don’t understand when they talk about champions — when they talk about a winner’s mentality. Kobe’s dedication to the game is unreal. And I mean that in the truest sense … it was literally unbelievable. The common denominator in every championship team is the mentality that Kobe has, and the mentality that Hakeem had with me at that Christmas party. You have to be so obsessed with winning that you pull no punches with your teammates, even when you’re in first place. Even when you’re a defending champ."

Kobe has been catching a lot of criticism because players around the league supposedly do not want to play with him, but as Horry states, you must have that winning mentality in order to win an NBA title and that’s what Kobe demands of his teammates.

Kobe is not hard on his teammates simply out of pleasure, he knows what it takes to win in this league and the proof is five championship rings. We’ve all heard about Kobe’s desire to win, but to hear it from a player who saw Kobe grow and mature, it definitely makes you appreciate the Mamba even more.