"My practices are by far worse" - Nick Kyrgios draws inspiration from Late Kobe Bryant's powerful words
Nick Kyrgios took to social media earlier today to share a throwback video of legendary basketball player Kobe Bryant talking about the importance of practice sessions in sports.
In a video that was originally posted by one of Bryant's fan pages, the former Los Angeles Lakers star stated that practices ought to be more competitive than actual matches. He added that although players would hate to practice day in and day out without resting, they will eventually be prepared for the highest level.
"Practices are meant to be competitive, they are meant to be competitive," Bryant said. "If your practices aren't more competitive than the games themselves, you're doing the wrong thing. And most of these teams and coaches have gotten into a mindset of resting players. 'Oh, it's too much, we're not going to practice; light day, light day, light day'. Phil [Jackson] never gave us a light day."
"There's no days off. You show up and you work and practice. And practices are going to be worse. They're going to be more physical, there's going to be more trash-talking, and I'm going to let you know. It's going to be embarrassing and you're going to hate it. But when game seven rolls around the NBA finals, you will be prepared."
World No. 22 Nick Kyrgios seemed to echo Bryant's thoughts and suggested that he practiced as hard as anyone else.
"My practices are by far worse. Mamba [Bryant] always knew," Kyrgios wrote on his Instagram stories.
'Black Mamba' was a nickname that Bryant gave himself after watching Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film Kill Bill, in which the Mamba snake was coded for a deadly assassin. The basketball icon and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. He is survived by his wife and three other daughters
"About to go to Saudi for six figures actually" - Nick Kyrgios on Davis Cup absence
Nick Kyrgios hasn't featured for Australia's Davis Cup team since 2019. In September this year, he announced that he would not play in the prestigious tournament since he wanted to spend time with family. Australia lost 2-0 against Canada in the final of the Davis Cup. Their captain, Lleyton Hewitt, revealed that he tried his best to get Kyrgios on the team, but to no avail.
The 27-year-old will next participate in the Diriyah Tennis Cup exhibition event, to be played from December 8-10 in Saudi Arabia, and the World Tennis League in Dubai from December 19-24. Replying to a fan who enquired why Kyrgios wasn't playing in the Davis Cup, the Aussie wrote:
"About to go to Saudi for six figures actually."
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