We’re a week removed from Kobe Bryant‘s unforgettable last game, and the tributes and stories about the man are still pouring in. Many speak to Kobe’s competitiveness and commitment to being the best. Sure, they might talk of long hours at the gym or a clutch in-game shot, but none of them likely include Pop-A-Shot. That’s where Chris Bosh‘s Kobe story ventures out on its own.
The Miami Heat Forward remembered his favorite Kobe moment on his personal website, which came during the pair’s time as teammates with USA Basketball in the 2008 Olympics.
We went to the village to hang out a few times while the Olympic Games were going on, and I remember everybody walking through the arcade that they’d set up for the athletes. There were a bunch of games, but in particular, they had those mini pop-a-shot basketball games that you can find in just about every arcade in the world. Kobe and Michael Redd started playing, and things got competitive. After a few games, I got tired of watching, so I left to meet up with some friends. I had to have been gone for a couple of hours. When it was almost time to head back to the hotel, I stopped by the arcade again and those guys were still playing! Both of them were in a full sweat with a focus like it was a real game. That was pretty funny to me because I’d always heard about how competitive Kobe was and in that moment, I got to witness it for myself.
Bosh also wrote about the time he showed up early to practice only to find Kobe had already finished his workout. These are common themes among Kobe’s farewell stories.
But the image of Bryant intensely going to town on a Pop-A-Shot game for multiple hours on end without stopping just so that he can win is so damn vivid. Other than dropping 60 points (on about 1,000 attempts) in his final game, this is among the more Kobe things Kobe could have done.
