14/03/2023
Two years ago, Julius Randle shared this moment he had with Kobe during his final season: “We get off the plane, we ride to the hotel, and — ha. Wow. I will never forget this. We’re coming up on the hotel in Dallas, and Kobe turns to me and he goes, ‘Julius, what you bout to do.’
I’m like, ‘I’m about to see my family, chill with some friends, you know. Have a night.’
And Kobe, he just cuts me off. He’s like, ‘Nah. We’re going to the gym.’
Bro....
I mean, that right there, it’s just the power of Kobe. If anyone else in the world had said that to me, in that moment, I might have hit ’em with an eye roll and went on with my business. But when Mamba is telling you that it’s a change of plans, and you’re coming with him to the gym tonight? You don’t ask questions. You just do as you’re told.
And of course Kobe knew we were in my hometown. Of course he knew... It was more like — it was him trying to use the situation to teach me a lesson. The lesson being: To get to the next level in this league, you can’t be putting in that next level of work only some of the time. Has to be all of the time. No such thing as sacrifice without sacrifice.
That was November 2015, Kobe’s last season. And from then on, everything he showed me that night, straight up: it’s become my routine. If we’re on a road trip, as soon as we get off the plane, there you go, that’s my night — before I do anything else. I’m heading to the gym, I’m getting my shots up, I’m putting in my work.
And what’s crazy is.... O.K., here’s the end of the story. So we’re in Detroit last season, on a road trip...
On this particular trip, in Detroit, they had this little high school gym opened up for me ... I get to the building, and the guy who was there to let me in, I think he’s the athletic director of that school, we start talking a little bit. And he’s like, ‘It’s good to see you. Guys don’t really show up here to work out anymore. Matter of fact, the last guy to come in this late to shoot — man, that must have been years ago. It was Kobe.’”
✍️: playerstribu.ne/JuliusRandle
📸: Kelvin Kuo