"It took my respect for him to another level" - Nancy Lieberman on Kobe Bryant's thirst for basketball excellence
Nancy Lieberman is a basketball legend in her own right. After all, she is a Hall of Famer and has been successful as a player and a coach. During her time around basketball, she met a lot of great players and some of them were students of the game but Kobe Bryant stood out for "Lady Magic."
On The Mark Jackson Show, Lieberman recalled how the Black Mamba approached her after she returned to play in the WNBA as a 50-year-old. For Nancy, it was just a one-time thing for closure, but Bryant's inquisitive nature left a deep impression on her.
"I'm walking down the hall, and Kobe goes, 'Nancy' and I'm like, 'Hi Kobe Bryant,'" the 66-year-old recalled. "'You got 15 minutes? Yes. He takes me to a side room, we sit down, and he goes, 'Natalia, Vanessa, and I watched you play Saturday. I go, 'Oh, that's really cool.'"
"He goes, 'How did you feel? How did you train? What did your body feel like? What were you eating?... Why did you do it?...' I felt like I was in a Think Tank with him," added Lieberman.
Remember, this happened in the offseason of 2008. Nancy played her farewell game on July 24, 2008, suiting up for the Detroit Shock against the Houston Comets. Bryant came off a Finals loss to the Boston Celtics, but Kobe was still at his physical peak. The five-time champ was, in fact, the league's reigning MVP. So, in Lieberman's mind, why is one of the world's top players asking a 50-year-old woman these questions?
"This is extraordinary. And it took my respect into another level for him because he didn't care who was giving him information to be better," Lieberman said.
Student of the game
Bryant wasn't just one of the best players ever; he was also a keen student of the game. His philosophical and mental approach to basketball spilled into his training. According to Tim Grover, who trained Kobe and MJ, the Los Angeles Lakers icon loved asking questions and firing them away at will.
"Kobe needed to know everything," Grover said, highlighting the difference between Bean and Jordan. "He wanted to know why we did this exercise. Why this many reps? Why this? Why that? Kobe, he was always, 'Why, why, why?' Because he was a student. He was learning. "Michael was just like, 'I hired you to do a job. Just get me the end result. I don't need to know why I'm doing this, what's going on. But when I do ask, you better have the answer.'"
As he was on the basketball court, if Kobe entered this mode, there would be no stopping the guy.
'Respect Everybody, Fear Nobody'
When the one-time MVP asked Nancy what her frame of mind was when facing her last challenge, she gave him a lesson he probably did not forget.
"I kept telling him I respect everybody, and I fear nobody. I didn't get a chance to play in my prime (in the WNBA). I needed to close the door on my career," Lieberman remarked. "I wanted to go out on my terms… I can do this. I'm going to get in shape because I respect everybody. I know it's gonna be hard and really that solidified my relationship with Kobe."
It's hard to tell how much that sit-down with Lieberman inspired Kobe. Nonetheless, Bryant went on a tour de force starting that summer. He led Team USA to a gold medal finish in Beijing and won two more titles in 2009 and 2010.
Legends need inspiration, and Kobe found his in every story, big or small. After all, it's the little things that keep the fire burning.
