I'm sorry, but does anyone else think that Kobe's a tool for making up his own nickname? Still can't get over that.
As a leader myself.....there is an element of truth in what he is saying. The mission comes first (obviously safety is important) and as a leader you have to be willing to be the bad guy if that's what it takes to accomplish the mission.
Haha Mamba out there's different ways to lead but unfortunately in stressful situations like a guy in sports who's always in the spotlights, the easiest way is to be an a-hole. It's funny how he thinks if you just work hard you will be successful, that's just complete gibberish. MJ was also a worldclass a-hole to teammates so it doesn't surprise me. There's probably very few examples of leading without resorting to this type of behaviour but we all Olajuwon is one. Sure he could be tough on guys but no way they would say or act the way Kobe has done.
Kenny and Maxwell alone had more self-motivation and drive than the entire 05-06 Lakers team combined. Sometimes to have to ....GET ANGRY to really find your drive.
OK, so he is hard on his teammates, but that still doesn't explain why he felt the need to come after Smush Parker long after they were teammates. Does he want to motivate Smush to be a better player overseas?
Best leaders in NBA history: Russell and Magic. They treated their teammates well. And not exactly assholes.
You don't tell your teammates 'you need more accolades before you can talk to me,' under any circumstances, in any workplace. That doesn't tend to elevate anyone.
Want to compare Russell and Magic's teammates to Kobe's 2005-2006 teammates and see if Russell and Magic wouldn't have yelled at them for being absolute garbage? You can't compare Russell and Magic's teams to Kobe's D-League team.
I don't think anyone is calling Smush Parker lazy. The knock is that he wasn't talented, not that he didn't work hard. By all accounts, he actually overachieved by working hard.