"Perception would’ve been Kobe is ducking Vince Carter" - Kobe Bryant once explained his disdain for load management
Even during Kobe Bryant's prime, load management was one of the more prevalent topics among players, fans and media.
Throughout his career, Bryant was vocal on why he believed players should compete whenever healthy. The LA Lakers legend wanted to play every game so hat people would have the opportunity to see him in action.
Bryant once discussed why he refused to sit out a game against the Toronto Raptors, as he believed that the narrative would have been that he was 'ducking' Vince Carter - who was dominating the NBA at the time.
"A lot of people are paying their hard-earned money to come and watch you perform," Kobe Bryant said during an interview.
"Perform. It's your job to be in shape. It's your job to be strong enough to perform at that level every single night. And, as a competitor, I'm not ducking s***. We had a game against Toronto in 2000, and Vince (Carter) was tearing the league up."
Kobe Bryant continued:
"My back was jacked. But the perception of that. 'Kobe's missing a game against Toronto,' but my back was really spasming. But people would be like, 'what? Oh, he's ducking Vince.' Excuse me?
"No, I don't think so. So, I would be in the lay-up line, and I was like, 'there's a lot of days where you can rest and recover - today ain't one of them.'"
During his storied NBA career, Kobe Bryant amassed 1346 regular-season and 220 playoff appearances and stayed true to his word of competing whenever he was healthy enough to do so.
Kobe Bryant never let anything shake his focus
During a recent interview, Carmelo Anthony noted how Kobe Bryant once came into a game directly from a court case to hit a game-winning shot. For Anthony, that was when he truly understood that Bryant's competitive mentality was different from almost everybody else.
"Before the game, he wasn't on the scouting report," Carmelo Anthony said. "First half is going. He comes in. He walks to the team's bench. You know, ready to go, not stretching, not warming up, just coming. And (he) didn't (just) play well, but he wound up hitting a big shot at the end.
"This man is going through so much s*** off the court. He flew in from a court case, and the fact that he played and, at the end of the game, hit the game-winning shot said a lot about his mental (aspect) and his perseverance as a person."
Kobe Bryant earned the nickname of 'The Black Mamba' due to his fierce competitive nature and desire to win.
Bryant personified the 'Mamba Mentality', and his commitment to the game of basketball can be seen in multiple stars who have entered the league in recent years. Two examples are Jayson Tatum and Anthony Edwards, who have both shared Bryant's sentiment for avoiding load management and bringing their all to every game.