5 Things D’Angelo Russell Can Learn From Kobe Bryant

Nothing Wrong With A Little Cockiness 

Kobe’s confidence has earned him a bit of a bad reputation at times throughout his career.  Some say his is cocky, and that he thinks he is better than everybody else, well that’s because he is.  It is pretty well known that a 21 year old Kobe Bryant once told MJ “I could kick your a** one-on-one”.  When Kobe entered the league, he may have thought that he was a little better than he actually was.  When he was just in his early 20’s, he never backed down to arguments with a much more established Shaquille O’ Neal, as he would never accept that Shaq was THE GUY on the team.  This may have made for a few bad stories that made Kobe look like a jerk, but that confidence and fearlessness is what made Kobe the player he grew to be.

RELATED: 3 Things the Lakers Can Take From the Warriors & Cavaliers

There is a reason that Kobe is one of the clutchest players in NBA history, right up there with Jordan, Magic, and Reggie Miller.  Every time the Mamba lets it fly, he thinks its going in, which is why there isn’t a shot Bryant doesn’t like.  Back in the 2014 playoffs, Deron Williams shot 0-9 against the Miami Heat, and this is what Kobe had to say about that:

"“I would go 0-30 before I would go 0-9.  0-9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game, because Deron Williams can get more shots in the game.  The only reason is because you’ve just now lost confidence in yourself.’”"

Few young players have ever had the mindset that Kobe Bryant had when he entered the league.  He still thinks exactly the same as he did when he was seventeen, he thinks he’s the best, and is willing to take any shot.  The only thing that changed over the course of his career is that as his career went on, he began to back up his cocky attitude with his play.

One great characteristic about Russell that hasn’t really been brought up is that he knows how good he is.  Most young players need time to develop that confidence, unlike Russell and Kobe Bryant.  Although Russell is 100% confident in his abilities now, that doesn’t mean that he will always be.  Through an 82-game season, anything can happen, shooting slumps, injuries, coaching issues, whatever it may be.  Kobe’s confidence was put to the biggest test, in his rookie season against the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, when he air-balled four shots down the stretch and lost the game.

Kobe did not let this get to his head, as he maintained to show full confidence in his ability to take last-minute shots, which became his forte for the rest of his career.

It’s more than just shooting the basketball.  With all of the talent Russell has, he can’t let any of that go to waste because of a lack of confidence.  The rookie is playing in L.A. with a ton of pressure, and will likely have some bad games on a big stage, but what he can learn from Bryant is to never lose that mindset of knowing he is great.

Next: Health Is Very Important