Kobe Bryant chooses four NBA players that made the most of their talents
By Sam Richmond
In sports we’re always looking to praise those players that make the absolute most of their natural ability. It’s basically a way of crediting players for working hard and understanding the game play to perfection.
In an interview with Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was asked to list the NBA players he thinks are most worthy of such praise and his answers were certainly interesting.
Asked KB which players he thought most maxed out their natural talent. Couple you'd expect - KD and LeBron. Then he said two other names...
— Chris Ballard (@Chris_Ballard33) August 22, 2014
...1)Steve Nash. "What he did in Phoenix? Outrageous! The guy is like 6 feet with platforms on, not particularly fast, but he maximized it."
— Chris Ballard (@Chris_Ballard33) August 22, 2014
...and 2) Tony Allen. "Tony Allen is a big favorite of mine. Just how he plays and what he does." Which led me to call Tony... (contd)
— Chris Ballard (@Chris_Ballard33) August 22, 2014
It’s pretty cool that Bryant chose James, considering LeBron is often credited for his athleticism and not his brain/work ethic, which are critical to his success.
The choices of Durant, Nash and Allen also make a lot of sense.
While Durant is also a very good athlete, he’s an offensive genius and makes the right play on that side of the ball almost every trip down.
As for Nash and Allen, both had to overcome physical limitations to have great success. Nash is undersized and Allen isn’t a great athlete or a capable shooter, yet has carved out a solid career for himself.