Kurt Stuckman

Antawn Jamison says he showed up 2 hours early to practice his first day with the Lakers because he was used to being the first player in, and says year 14 or 15 Kobe Bryant was already walking out of the gym completely drenched in sweat because he’d been working since 5:00 A.M. “If you love the game of basketball, Kobe was the ultimate teammate. If you were one of those players who didn’t work, he’d get on you. I remember the first day I got to L.A. You know me, I’m always—I’m a vet. I’m the first one in the gym.” “Practice is around 10:30am, 11. I’m there at like 8:30am. When I come in, Kobe is coming out. He’s just drenched. I’m like, ‘This guy in the cold tub?’ No. He’d been working out since 5:00 in the morning.” “That lets you know his mentality. It was like, ‘I’ve got to get another ring.’ He hated to lose. First one in the gym, last one to leave. And that was what, Year 14 or 15 for him?” “I’ve been blessed. I played alongside Shaq. I played alongside some greats, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. But that personality right there, when you hear the Mamba Mentality, that’s what I’m saying.” “I’m talking to my sons and they’re like, ‘Yeah, we got that Mamba Mentality.’ I’m just sitting there laughing like, ‘You have no idea what that means.’” “Kobe was a maniac. Like, no, a maniac, bro. And this was when he had five rings. If you came into practice every day and you loved the game, he was the best teammate I ever had.”