Kobe was a killer on the court. If you want to be as good as him, there is only one way –you need to do the Kobe Bryant Basketball Workout.
If you follow basketball (and are reading this), you know who Kobe Bryant is. He is one of the greatest basketball players ever with all that he achieved on the hardwood.
He is an MVP, a champion, an All-Star, and a Hall of Famer.
But how did he become so great? He surely wasn’t born with the gifts of great basketball skills.
How Kobe Bryant Became a Legend
First, he worked extremely hard. If you just type in “Kobe Bryant motivation” into any search engine, there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of videos and articles on his work ethic.
There are also tons of stories (told by Kobe and others) on how he was always in the gym working out and how he hated lazy teammates.
So one key to becoming great is working super hard.
Second, the Black Mamba put a lot of time and effort into mastering the fundamentals of basketball.
He would apply the Mamba Mentality into practicing the most boring skills.
Exercises such as the Mikan Drill, the mid-range jumper, and shooting after a jab step were things he practiced on a regular basis for hours at a time.
And because he got obsessed with these mundane and sometimes tedious workouts, he was able to become really good at basketball.
Now, you probably didn’t want to hear that. You probably wanted me to say that Kobe had the most exciting workouts, where he did Olympic lifts and sparred with grizzly bears.
And he worked on crazy ball-handling and deep 3-point shots every day.
But that’s just not the truth.
Kobe was really nerdy when it came to basketball.
He practiced smart. He studied the best of them and copied what they did. Kobe also watched and studied a bunch of tape to figure out what he needed to work on.
And this is what it really takes to become great at basketball.
So if you’re interested in imitating Kobe and how he trained, here are a couple of basketball workouts he did that you can try.
Kobe’s Pregame Shooting Workout
Before every game (and I would imagine before every team practice as well), Kobe did this shooting workout:
This workout would be around 1 hour and he just worked his jump shot (Kobe started in close and then worked his way out).
Since the video above doesn’t show or explain his routine, you can follow this one instead.
If you’ve noticed, Kobe can score from virtually anywhere. So to start this workout, you’re going to work on inside scoring and then work your way out.
The Workout
First, you are going to do the Mikan Drill.
You should aim to take around 20 shots and make at least 15 of them. If you’re not exactly sure what the Mikan Drill is, read this post.
Next, you’re going to step onto one side of the free-throw lane and stand on the marker closest to the baseline.
You’re going to take 5-10 shots and then move to the next marker. You’re going to do this until you have gone all the way around the free-throw box.
Take a big step out once you are finished taking your shots at the final marker.
You should be somewhere in the middle of the mid-range area.
Now, do the same thing as before. Take 5-10 shots and then move on to the next spot. There should be a total of 5 spots that you’re shooting at.
FYI, this shooting course would be a lot easier if you use markers or cones.
You can see exactly where to go next rather than imagining it. You can click here to find the best ones on Amazon.
However, to be totally transparent, the link is an affiliated link. What this means is that I will get a small commission from Amazon if you choose to use the link. There will not be any extra costs to you.
Can you guess what you’re supposed to do next?
That’s right, take another step out. Now, you’re going to work on your long mid-range jumpers.
Do what you were doing earlier and once you are done, move out to 3-point land and do it again.
Kobe will consider the workout finished after he has taken 400 shots. But you can aim for whatever number you want.
As time passes and you do more and more of this drill, you should aim to make at least 70 percent of our shots.
You don’t have to make all of them, but you should make the majority of them.
Kobe’s Footwork Workout
Okay, that was part 1 of his workout. The second part consists of footwork drills.
If you go on YouTube, there’ll be tons of videos talking about Kobe’s footwork. He has mastered a lot of moves.
But since you’re not Kobe, I suggest you pick 3-5 moves to practice first.
Ideally, at least one of them would be in the post-up and one would be in the mid-range.
You can pick moves from the following list:
Similar to before, you are going to do these moves all over the court.
You should do them approximately 10 times each.
Also, you should start on one side and then work your way around the court (much like the game Around the World).
One more thing Kobe does to work on his game is scrimmage.
He did this a lot with his teammates because it simulates a real game and gives him a chance to work on the plays.
You don’t have to do this, but to improve at basketball, you do need to use your moves in games. You have to actually play to know what works and what doesn’t, and what you need to work on.
However, if you’re unable to scrimmage, you can just play pick-up games.
They’re pretty much the same thing. The key difference is that there won’t be a coach stopping you every few possessions to call plays or teach you something.
Final Thoughts
So, that’s pretty much the Kobe Bryant basketball workout.
Do it as often as possible and you’ll be granted the Mamba Venom –the source of the Mamba Mentality!
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P.S. If you’re struggling to improve in basketball, you may be training wrong.
This is why you need to check out my Old Man Game Activity Guides. They’re convenient training systems that will help you work on your fundamentals and conditioning.
Click here to learn more about them.