Metta World Peace: I told myself, “I’m going to be the hardest worker here.” Yao was a hard worker—he didn’t miss a single suicide. We’d try to get him to take a break, but he wouldn’t. That’s just the kind of player he was. But then there was Kobe. I’m watching him, and I’m like, “Damn, there’s really nothing I can do.” He was in the gym at 6 a.m. Me? I was just coming home drunk, coming back from the club, but Kobe? He’s already in the gym. I work hard, though, you know? I’d sweat the alcohol out there. I swear to God. But one day, I decided I had to see it for myself. I got to the gym at nine—he was already gone. Then I got there at eight one day—he was just leaving. Finally, one day, I got there at six. I did my own thing, but I saw it. I was like, “Wow, this guy’s different. He’s a different breed. A different dude, man.” He played through a broken foot. Like, you know, he’s not going to feel the pain. Gary Vitti said Kobe had the highest threshold for pain he’d ever seen. For sure. There were times I’d think, “Wow, I’ve got a high threshold for pain, too.” But when Gary told me that about Kobe, I was like, “Really?” He said, “B, I’ve never seen anybody like him.” -via YouTube / December 11, 2024
Stephen Jackson on Metta World Peace: ‘If he was in his right mind, he could’ve won Defensive Player of the Year and MVP multiple times’
