5 Things D’Angelo Russell Can Learn From Kobe Bryant

Jan 21, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) against the New Orleans Pelicans during a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Lakers 96-80. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Take Care Of The Body

One thing that Kobe has learned over the course of his career is that taking care of his body is just as important as anything.  At one point in his career, Bryant was eating pizza before games and managing to score 81 points, but as his career extended, he realized that he won’t be able to last much longer if he continued to ignore the health aspect of the game.  Everything from ice baths, to strict diets, to knee procedures in Germany, over the last five years or so Kobe has gone to extreme measures to keep his body ready for the wear and tear of the NBA game.

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Sure he has only played 41 games combined over the last two seasons, but from an overall standpoint it is pretty remarkable that Kobe will be entering his 20th season in the league, and will likely be a top five player at his position.  Young guys seem to take their bodies for granted, and assume that they can continue to average 40 minutes per game for the next ten years.  Guys like Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng learned the hard way, as their bodies simply couldn’t perform consistently at a high level by the time they hit 30 years old.

Good thing for Russell, is that he plays the game low to the ground, and rarely flies high for rebounds or dunks.  Guys who play the game slower and less in the air tend to stick around longer: Paul Pierce, Andre Miller, and Jason Kidd to name a few.  This doesn’t mean however that Russell should not take caution about his body.  With the new technology, players now have the opportunity to extend their careers a few more years.

Kobe taking care of his body is simply something that Russell can observe and apply to himself.  It’s the small things that Kobe does everyday, things that no other player does, that pay huge dividends on the long run.  That extra hour of stretching, or just daily seven minute ice bath, can completely change the player Russell is in 10-15 years.

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