Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) talks with James Worthy during media day at the team practice facility in El Segundo. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Approximately a month ago, James Worthy made an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast. At one point in the 100-minute episode, the panel had a brief discussion about Kobe Bryant. During their conversation, Worthy narrated an anecdote to Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, depicting Bryant’s incredible commitment to the game.

According to Worthy, unlike Michael Jordan’s obsession with golf, Kobe Bryant had no hobbies. Instead, the Black Mamba would eat, breathe, and think about the game constantly. A true student of the sport, the Los Angeles Lakers legend would pay close attention to every aspect.

While speaking about the time that he interviewed Bryant, Worthy also disclosed being a part of the former’s film session. During the same, Big Game James revealed that the shooting guard would see things that nobody would otherwise.

“I interviewed him once down in his office and I never seen a player so focused. I don’t think he had any hobbies. Like golf or anything. He was just so super focused on detail and the way he watched the game. He watched everything – hand movement. We’d be watching video and he’d be like ‘oh he’s got his hand up, I got it’. ‘What are you talking about?’ He’s like ‘Well, his weight’s on that side, so anytime he goes hands up… So I never seen anybody look at the game the way he did,” Worthy claimed.

It is not a surprise that Kobe was known for his dedication to the game. The man would spend his entire day in the gym, only to go back to the film room and study his opponents. Regarded as the hardest worker in the league’s history, James also commended Bryant’s “philosophy” of not allowing anyone to out-practice him.

“Of course, his philosophy was ‘Nobody’s gonna have more hours (in the gym) than me,’” Worthy revealed.

Kobe Bryant actually did have hobbies

While he was a hard worker, it wasn’t like Kobe Bryant didn’t enjoy the time off he got, unlike Worthy’s belief. However, Bryant chose to indulge himself in activities that would enhance him mentally and physically. As such, two of his favorite hobbies were, rather fittingly, meditating and playing football.

Bryant was a huge advocate of meditating. While preaching his Mamba Mentality to his supporters, the five-time NBA Champ also advised everybody to meditate for at least five minutes a day. Beginning the day with meditation allowed the 6ft 6” star to set the tone for the remainder of the day.

Football was another activity that Bryant loved. Apart from following different football leagues around the world, Kobe even played the sport. Growing up in Italy, where football is a huge part of the culture, he became pretty good at the sport.

Bryant continued these activities even after his retirement. Bryant flew to Taiwan, connected with Jackie Chan, and meditated on top of a mountain in Taipei.

Bryant taught us that these were some extra steps that an athlete has to take to achieve greatness.