Watch Kobe Bryant moonlight as coach while on tour of China [Video]
How would Kobe Bryant fare as a coach?
Based on a new YouTube clip released Saturday, Bryant would get his team up at 4 a.m. for a workout.
“I think being up at 4 a.m. adds to the mental toughness,” said Bryant. “You start to think, ‘Ah, maybe this morning I don’t have to. I’ll just roll over and go to sleep. I can shut the alarm off.’ And that’s really challenging you mentally to really have to get up and perform -- so that’s why I do it.”
Working with a number of young athletes as part of “Kobe Bryant Nike Basketball Tour, China 2013,” Bryant appears to be a hard-driving mentor.
Bryant’s tour of China has likely come to an end this off-season, with an appearance scheduled on Thursday with Jimmy Kimmel at Nokia Theater (“Kobe Up Close”).
The Lakers will visit China in October for two preseason games -- although it’s doubtful Bryant will be ready to play as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn Achilles’ tendon.
ALSO:
Watch footage of Wilt Chamberlain battling Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
New assistant Johnny Davis says Lakers need to become true team
Watch the on-court similarities between Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.
More to Read
All things Lakers, all the time.
Get all the Lakers news you need in Dan Woike's weekly newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.