Kobe Bryant was a creature of habit when it came to his workouts and practice routines. With everything centered around basketball, he rarely broke the monotony — something Paul Pierce would attest to, given that he once saw the Lakers legend at a bar.
The man behind the Mamba Mentality, Bryant was known for his work ethic and competitive hunger to win. Whether he was the first to enter the gym and the last to leave or practiced 1000 shots a day, there exist countless gym anecdotes about him.
The obsession with winning led Bryant to overlook many other joys of life, especially during his youth. However, on a rare occasion, he did visit a club, with Pierce being a witness to it. A story that he continues to tell:
“We didn’t hang like that, but we’d run into each other in the summertime, especially we play pickup at UCLA, and it’s just he was just different, his demeanor was just way more different than everybody. I seen him in the club one time, he was just standing in the corner, he had like some sweats on, like he was ready to go to the gym,” said Pierce.
Another interesting anecdote about that night was Bryant telling Pierce to be careful at the club, which the latter found highly amusing since he was older than him.
A different breed
Bryant was known to have a reclusive nature, preferring to keep to himself on most occasions. So much so that his interactions with teammates never extended beyond the court. He never joined them at the bar or parties, but instead spent time watching game film.
When describing Bryant as a leader, many felt his expectations were unrealistic and that everyone had a particular way of approaching their craft. However, the Lakers guard felt that making an individual uncomfortable and challenging them brought out the best results.
Whether you agreed with him or not, Bryant delivered the goods. A notable example of this was his consecutive title wins in 2009 and 2010. When most thought he could never win without Shaquille O’Neal, the Black Mamba took his time to respond but did it in the most ideal fashion.
Kobe never checked out since draft day
Bryant was drafted straight out of high school, unlike most kids his age. Officially making it to the NBA in 1996, he was in no mood to celebrate as he wanted to conserve energy and give it all in practice the next morning.
“I think there were 29 or 30 individuals drafted in the first round. So let’s say there were 30, so there were 29 draft parties thrown. You know, when you get drafted in the first round, everyone wants to have a little celebration. You made it, and so on. One person that did not have a draft party thrown was Kobe,” said Grover.
No doubt, Bryant set the precedent when it came to work ethic in the NBA. A feat that is almost impossible to accomplish in the load management era. That said, the Black Mamba deserved to take off at times and do things outside of basketball as well. Hearing Pierce’s story, it seemed that Bryant was out of place in the club and would rather be in the weight room.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.