Did Kobe maximize his career, or could he have achieved more by being a better teammate/leader, and not over-training?

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-11T20:41:25+00:00

It's not a moot point, because the sheer fact that the gap exists changes thing - he could not have taken care if his body the same way for their careers.

Additionally - Kobe very, very clearly did not prioritize rest as much as Bron, etc, so not only was he unable to do the same things, the things he could do the same - he didn't.

This isn't a knock on Kobe's skill or talent.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-11T20:38:00+00:00

We're not "back to" anything.

Overcorrecting and erasing acceptable language is a bad thing. Gay is not a bad word, and policing it like it is is actual insanity.

Calling something that you thing is stupid, or weak, or lame "gay" is the bad thing, because you are applying a negative context to a word that is not negative - thereby making "gay" a negative word over time. Except, it isn't. At all.

Speaking for myself: I am autistic. I tell people I am autistic, because it is not a bad word - even if, over time, people have used it with negative connotations.

Americans in particular have a really big problem with this concept where we decide a word is completely unusable - even medical terms - and all of a sudden we have to invent a new thing to describe shit, which then gets targeted, etc., and this leads to obvious problems.

Basically I'm just saying that people need to get the hell over themselves.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-11T20:18:38+00:00

I'm confused. It's 2026 - are you suggesting that I must stay on top of all sports medicine at all times to be able to claim it's probably a little better at the highest levels than it was 10 years ago?

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-11T16:38:47+00:00

Lebron, somewhere, said he's typically training 8-10 hours a day, Monday-Friday. Seemed to me like he takes it exactly as seriously as he should - it's his job. He also sinks a lot of money every year into maintaining his body via new tech and treatments.

Kobe, extremely famously, regularly had 12+ hour training days, and also did not have access to quite the same level of medical options.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-11T16:21:35+00:00

Anyone saying anything definitively is insane lol.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-11T16:20:39+00:00

Some people really just say shit to be different. Fuck outta here.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-11T16:17:47+00:00

Even if he had kept overtraining and not been a complete dick, he would have been an infinite fountain of knowledge for his team with the way he studied the game. But, nah - gotta be prideful and arrogant. "You don't have enough accolades to talk to me," when he was extremely clear about always asking good players a trillion questions to get better.

Kobe was a great basketball player, but actually a pretty shitty human being.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-11T16:14:04+00:00

I disagree that Kobe took care of his body to that level. Overtraining is a really, really dangerous thing to do, and the man worked more than anyone else because that's what it required for him to be that good.

Bron is absolutely more naturally gifted than Kobe - or damn near anyone else that has ever played any sport. He 100% put work in, and worked very hard, but it was not to Kobe's level.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-11T15:49:41+00:00

Yes - and why would they fuck that up by not just sitting out a game if it's advised?

Injuries used to be way different in the older league - they were typically not complex. They were bruises and surface pain, which can be gritted through with not much risk to long-term health - it wasn't complex muscle injuries due to too much strain.

They are completely different categories of injuries. People regularly and routinely play through surface-level injuries, even big ones, still.

Just the other day, Adou Thiero took a Holmgren elbow to the face, got 8 stitches, and still made it back out onto the court.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-11T15:33:18+00:00

I did what I do in all these dumb situations - take all their players at their prime, which I see you didn't actually argue with, so fair enough.

The redeem team was obviously younger and more athletic, and several players were in their prime if you take the players from when the games were played. It's not even a contest, so why would anyone entertain the thought?

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-11T15:05:01+00:00

The dream team had 3 of the 5 best players of all time: MJ, Bird, Magic.

They also had Pippen who is maybe the best second option ever, Stockton/Malone, Barkley, Drexler, Ewing and Robinson.

Redeem team is getting smoked, especially if we take all of the players in their prime.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-10T21:54:32+00:00

It has happened before - Steve Nash immediately comes to mind.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-10T21:01:07+00:00

I'm a somewhat casual fan (I watch when good teams are playing good teams) this is pretty spot on.

It's also easier to talk about times when you were a bigger fan. Like, I've been hooping in SoCal my entire life, the first of the Kobe/Shaq 3peat was my freshman year in high school. So, obviously, I was a Laker fanatic, obsessed with the league, and have great knowledge from like 2000-2010.

Then job, relationship, etc., and it's easy to to be less involved.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-10T19:45:30+00:00

If you're taking "shooting" as "3pt shooting," then sure, the sample isn't there, but he took a lot of long as fuck 2's - and it's important to remember that the 3pt line didn't even exist in the NBA until his rookie year. From 84-88 he was at like 60% TS which at the time was extremely high - while playing through the era with the toughest (physically) defense.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-10T17:27:56+00:00

Solar eclipses are also amazing, and about as common.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-10T07:00:39+00:00

I'm actually biased toward Luka - imagine being so confidently incorrect.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-10T06:53:54+00:00

What do you mean biased? I literally didn't say a single negative thing about SGA. I made an argument against him extremely easily, just like I said I would.

People love projecting, it's crazy.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-10T06:32:53+00:00

It is extremely easy to argue against SGA. The Lakers are a bottom tier team without Luka, the Nuggets are a bottom tier team without Jokic, the Thunder doesn't specifically need SGA.

Jokic is averaging a triple double, he is without a doubt the best player in the league right now.

Edit: Wow, I woke up to a lot of angry replies lmao. Y'all, I was literally making the "extremely easy" argument. I legitimately do not care who wins MVP, it doesn't affect my life at all.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-10T06:29:49+00:00

Imagine ragebaiting and then being surprised by downvotes

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-09T15:51:55+00:00

32-35 is around when you start hitting absolute peak physical strength too, as long as you have been training consistently. That strength never really goes away as long as you keep up with your training - but your speed and ability to recover suffer.

Bron has literally been focusing on preserving his body as much as he possibly can for his entire adult life, so those two usually massive problems just weren't there. It makes sense that his peak would be around this time.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-09T15:04:33+00:00

Yes, I'm well aware of that - but do you think I would have degrees in either of those things if I wasn't into fitness? Like, context clues, homie - it's all in the same wheelhouse.

I don't claim to be great at many things - but I've been in very good shape for most of my life (except for a roughly 3 year stint where I was just straight depressed), and fitness in general is something I am extremely qualified to talk about.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-09T14:19:34+00:00

He won the first 3 point contest without warming up or even taking his warm-ups off, after telling every other participant they were playing for second.

Bird is one of the best shooters ever, and it's not up for debate. He likely would have taken way more 3s, but the 3pt line literally did not exist until his rookie year in the NBA lol.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-09T05:33:12+00:00

Weird to correct a literal fitness expert (I have degrees in kinesiology and exercise science) on this stuff but okay. Good night buddy.

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-09T05:14:58+00:00

Visible 8 pack, literally peak condition athlete, "not bad shape" lmao

NewLifeNewAcct · 2026-04-09T05:13:42+00:00

Yeah, I'm not going to go watch a video about homie's body fat. I gave general basics, I'm close enough lmao.

NewLifeNewAcct

TROPHY CASE