00jm100

[Tommy Beer @TommyBeer]

Thomas Bryant is 26.

He’s played basketball all his life. At the highest level.

High school state title in NY. Elite AAU circuit teams. He played in the Big Ten. He’s played in FIBA. He’s been on 4 NBA teams.

He’s never seen shit like this

https://t.co/AKKZ5V0DVp

[Robert Reich @RBReich]

CEO pay of the largest carmakers in the world.

Honda: $2.3M
Nissan $4.5M
Toyota: $6.7M

BMW: $5.6M
Mercedes: $7.5M
Porsche: $7.9M

Ford: $21M
Stellantis: $25M
GM: $29M

Folks, don't believe it for a second that US automakers can't afford to pay workers better wages.

[Los Angeles Lakers @Lakers]

Kobe’s legacy immortalized.

2•8•24

[Nike Basketball @nikebasketball]

The legacy continues.

The Kobe Protro 8 ‘Halo’ marks the continuation of a storied legacy, pairing a triple white colorway with the iconic Kobe 8 silhouette, embodying the timelessness of an icon never forgotten.

Arriving globally August 23 in SNKRS. Download the App to get notified when it drops. ⬇️

[Nice Kicks @nicekicks]

Nike is unveiling a new Kobe shoe on August 10 👀

[LEEZUS @AndrewLeezus]

nah this Kevin Durant edit goes crazy

[Teddy Mitrosilis @TMitrosilis]

Navy SEALs have a saying.

You may find it helpful.

When something sucks, they look at each other and say:

"FULL BENEFIT"

It’s an instant mindset shift.

• Hiking and it starts pouring rain?
• Driving and your car breaks down?
• Working on a project and lost a draft?

FULL BENEFIT.

***

LESSON: Adversity is an opportunity

The message is simple.

Every adversity is an opportunity.

• To grow
• To learn
• To evolve
• To get stronger
• To become better

These moments forge us if we let them.

The next time you're facing something hard, welcome it.

Work through the process.

Learn the lessons.

Reap the full benefit.

***
Follow @TMitrosilis for more content like this.

[00jm100 @sct2k6]

@Oh_tooly3 @notarabledays A place that doesn’t thunderstorm every 30 minutes

[@FaithWorks @FaithworksX]

Erik Spoelstra shared one of his personal Kobe memories (via CBSsportsHQ). 

"I still remember the first time I met him," Spoelstra said. "I was an assistant coach, and one of my responsibilities was with the young players. Rasual Butler and I walked out for an early workout. The veterans would always have the best time slotted to work out before the game, so we had to get our work in way before everybody. We got in there four and a half hours [before the game}. We thought we would be there way before anyone else would be on the court. Kobe was already on the court. 

"The painstaking detail and focus he was putting into that workout was remarkable. Rasual and I just ended up watching about 15 or 20 minutes of it. Then we went back to work. And as Kobe finished up his workout, he came and sat down, and it was a surreal moment as a young assistant coach. I was like: 'Wow, he's going to sit here and watch this workout.' Rasual was from Philly, so they knew each other, and he wound up introducing me to [Kobe]. 

"And what I found so amazing about that moment, the reason I bring it up, is because there was nobody that was going to be more fierce or more of a savage as a competitor [than Kobe], and yet the next two minutes of what Kobe was doing to encourage a young player [in Rasual] was simply amazing. And that was early mentorship, when [Kobe] was still a young player [himself] in this league. But Rasual wasn't playing at the time, and Kobe could separate the two things and offer a lot of encouragement, basically telling him: 'Hey, you stick with this. That kind of workout, you're going to earn your spot in this league, it's just a matter of time.' 

"And then to come out in the game that night and just try to destroy everybody. It was paradoxical almost, those two kinds of personalities. He was very giving. We all saw that later in his career when he was such a mentor. But also one of the fiercest competitors you could ever come across."

[Fastpitch Power @FastpitchPower]

Is something wrong with the ESPN radar guns? Cause I know all these travel and college coaches are obsessed with 65+ MPH, yet 90% of the pitchers I’ve seen in the SUPER REGIONALS are throwing upper 50’s to low 60’s 🤔🤔

[@FaithWorks @FaithworksX]

Another Kobe Olympic story. This time brought to you by Mike Breen as he was announcing a Knicks/Nets game. You might want to grab a tissue for this one because it's a remarkable and touching story:

One of my remembrances was in 2008, when I was doing the Olympics. This was in Beijing. I had to take a taxi, we were set to go and talk to some of the team USA players, and I had an NBA, I think it was a pullover on. And the taxi driver, who didn't speak very good English, turned to me and he started pointing, 'NBA, NBA,' he kept saying. And I said 'Yes, NBA.' He said, 'Kobe Bryant?' And I said, 'Yep, Kobe Bryant. He's playing for USA.' And he asked me, and again broken English, 'You know Kobe Bryant?' And when I told him that yes, I knew Kobe Bryant, he pulled the cab over and started sobbing. He was so taken and emotional, not that he met Kobe Bryant, that he met someone who knew Kobe Bryant. I've never experienced that. It was such a big moment in his life that he met somebody that knew Kobe Bryant.

[@FaithWorks @FaithworksX]

Julius Randle shared a letter to Knicks fans in “The Players Tribune.” Here’s a segment of it about Kobe. It’s long but it’s a must read (grab a tissue):

Gotta tell y’all a quick story.

Alright, so everyone knows how I had to sit out my rookie year with an injury. But one of the consequences of missing that year is how it delayed all these NBA “firsts.” All these different little dreams you had since you were a kid, about making it to the league — that all gets put on pause for a season. And meanwhile you’re sitting there courtside, in street clothes, watching it happen. It’s like you’re so close to it but so far away. It’s tough, man.

And then what happens that next season, is you’re almost making up for lost time. It’s like it’s all that stuff you’ve been dreaming about.... but now with a whole other year of having built it up in your head.

One of the biggest things for me that I was looking forward to, I think it’s one of the things a lot of guys look forward to when they get to the league. It’s playing that first game on the road in the city where you came up. It’s like a whole homecoming vibe: I went to grade school here — now I’m coming back and I’m an NBA player?! That’s a wild feeling.

I grew up in Dallas, so I had this early-season road game against the Mavericks circled on my calendar. I was excited. Excited to feel that sense of accomplishment, of being that kid from your neighborhood growing up who made it to the league.

We flew in after a Wednesday night game, and the Mavs game wasn’t until Friday late, which meant we had an off day in Dallas. So guys were definitely going out that night. Me, I’ve got family, I’ve got a bunch of friends texting and whatnot, with this plan and that plan. Y’all have to keep in mind I’m 20 years old at this time. You can imagine where my head is at.

So then 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. But that wasn’t him being a bad dude or anything. 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. And we fly in, I grab my bags, and like I said: it’s been my routine ever since that night in Dallas. Get off the plane, head to the gym. Get off the plane, head to the gym. Get off the plane, head to the gym. Like clockwork. Every city, though, it’s a new situation — there’s different places available. So what I’ll do is, I’ll have the team set up a spot in advance. And that way I can go straight there, however late it is, and get my workout in...

[Pau Gasol @paugasol]

Forever a Laker 💜💛 @Nike

[Dan Go @CoachDanGo]

If you sit for more than 6 hours a day, read this:

[Deftones @deftones]

#Deftones produced by #Heaven by @marcjacobs and @STRAYRATS. The spring 2023 capsule will be available March 3rd.

Deftones fans photographed by #Exactitudes in Los Angeles and London.

[NBACentral @TheDunkCentral]

Damian Lillard says the ‘grass isn’t always greener’ when you leave a franchise

“You look at Russell Westbrook. You leave OKC for Houston, then James [Harden] decided he's leaving, now Russ is traded to D.C., then you get traded from D.C. to the Lakers, now you're on your fourth team in four years and in your second year on the team, everybody is talking about how they should trade you. Now you're coming off the bench. This dude is a Hall of Famer, an MVP. It's an example that the grass isn't always greener.”

(Via ESPN)

[Kobe Bryant Stories & Motivation @kobehighlight]

8 ♾️ 24

[Andrew Petcash @AndrewPetcash]

Kobe Bryant may have made the BEST athlete investment of all time.

Turning $6M into over $400 million.

Here's the fascinating story:

[Josiah Johnson @KingJosiah54]

Lincoln Riley: “Can we stop Tulane?”

USC defense: