Kobe Bryant was not only a great player, but was an inspiration to so many others. His mentality towards the game was next to none. A number of former Lakers have come out and praised his presence around in the locker room.

One of the recent ones to do so is Jim Jackson. Jackson was a member of the Lakers during their down period in 2006. He has illustrated his time with the “Black Mamba” in a recent interview with Dan Patrick.

Jackson mentioned that getting to know Kobe was the best part of his time with the Lakers. “I knew Kobe at 18 when he came in. I competed against him and played against him. But when you’re around a person on a daily basis, so to speak, and not to say that Kobe and I were best friends, but we had a chance to hang out and go to dinner and talk about life, game, and philosophy.”

“In that short period of time, I kind of knew the mindset behind the player.” Jim Jackson was inspired by how Kobe prepped himself before every game.

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“I had the opportunity to play with Hall of Famers such as Tracy McGrady, Jason Kidd, Chris Webber, and Allen Iverson, but Kobe was just different, man. One wasn’t perfect and didn’t always say or do things the right way.”

It was that competitive nature that attracted Jackson to him. According to him, he wanted to prove himself to be the best by beating the top players in the NBA.

Kobe Bryant and the 2006 post season

Dan Patrick mentioned that Kobe was averaging around 35 points per game during that period. He led the league in 2006 and was the scoring champion. Despite Kobe’s heroics, the Lakers were lagging behind their rivals.

The Phoenix Suns, led by Steve Nash, eliminated Kobe and the Lakers. Kobe averaged almost 28 throughout the series. This included a 50-point game in which the Lakers lost by eight during overtime.

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Does Kobe inspire you? What moments of his stick out? Discuss and bring out in the comments below.