"How To Be A Big Shot" - Robert Horry, Players Tribune (Insight On Champion Lakers, Phil, Kobe, Drea

[brandon3000]

Another great peace from The Players Tribune and worth checking out (Especially this time of year)

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/robert-horry-kobe-phil-jackson-lakers/

Would love to see some of you guys thoughts on the things Horry says here. Few cliffs below. Enjoy

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We didn’t lose our second game until two days before Christmas against the Nuggets. We were 22-2. I show up at the Christmas party that night and Hakeem is pacing around. He comes up to me — no expression — and waves for me to follow him out to the porch. “Ro-bert, come with me for a second.”

Inside my head, I’m like, **** Dream, it’s cold outside. What the hell could we possibly have to talk about so bad? We’re 22-2. But I say, “Sure, Dream.”

We go outside and he looks me dead in the eye and says, “Do you care if we win or lose?”

I look back at him dead in the eye and say, “Dude, you probably don’t understand this, but I care more than anyone on this team. I hate losing.”

“You do not show it in your emotions, Ro-bert.”

This was one of the defining moments of my career. I’m getting called out by my idol. I could have tucked my tail between my legs. I decided against it.

“Well,” I said. “You don’t show your emotions either!”

Two grown men standing on a porch talking about their emotions. I’ll never forget him cracking a smile and laughing.

“Good point,” he said. “Let’s go inside.”

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He would never stop. It was incredible. He practiced until one day, a couple months later, he finally won. If you literally said, “Kobe, I bet you can’t make five in a row by dropping the ball and kicking it in from half court,” that ************ would go out there and practice it until he could do it. And that’s what people don’t understand when they talk about champions — when they talk about a winner’s mentality. Kobe’s dedication to the game is unreal. And I mean that in the truest sense … it was literally unbelievable. The common denominator in every championship team is the mentality that Kobe has, and the mentality that Hakeem had with me at that Christmas party.

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With Phil, his ability to coach Michael Jordan and the success that he was able to lead those Bulls teams to is why he commanded so much respect from players. The titles Phil won in Chicago translated into titles in Los Angeles. His six rings is what made Shaq get into the gym and become one of the most dominant forces in league history. However, as dominant as we were in that three-peat run, I feel we could’ve done more if it weren’t for egos and complacency.

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I said, “I know I make too much money and I know you’ve got a hard-on for Karl Malone.” They had been wanting him for five years, ever since Phil got there. I’m a realist. Tell me like it is and I will respect you more, just don’t go behind my back. I told them I’d stay for $2 million, but they weren’t interested. All I asked them was to allow me to find a team before the money dried up and not to wait until the last day to release me. They told me, “We won’t do you like that.”


Well, they didn’t do me like that. They waited until the next to last day to release me.

 

[CP1708]

Excellent stuff by Big Shot Rob.

cutting him over 2 mil, and 2nd to last day.

 

[M. Fresh]

"I actually have five NBA titles thanks to the Lakers. Three from playing with the team, and two from them showing me the door."


I always felt if his shot would've went down the Lakers would've won four straight

 

[MVP]

"I actually have five NBA titles thanks to the Lakers. Three from playing with the team, and two from them showing me the door."

I always felt if his shot would've went down the Lakers would've won four straight

 Remember this like it was yesterday. 

 

[Peep Game]

Rockets and Spurs Horry