well because when I retire I didn't want to have to say I wish I would have done more I don't want that you know I don't want that you got a lot of people playing their hard ear money to come watch you perform perform perform it's your job to be in shape it's your job to be strong enough to perform at that level every single night and as a competitor I'm not I'm not ducking [Music] you really want me on the team what's your approach to recruitment you want first place come play with me you
want second place go somewhere [Music] else like I I would watch Magic play I'd watch Michael play all and I would see them do these unbelievable things and I'd say you know can I get to that level I don't know but let's find out everything was done to try to learn how to become a better basketball player everything everything and so when you have that point of view then literally the world becomes your library to help you to become better at your craft so because you know what you want the world's giving you exactly the
information 100% because you know what you're looking for so many guys tell stories about your work ethic what was really your work ethic like and for how long did you stay disciplined um well I mean I mean every day I mean since you know for 20 years it was an everyday process and trying to figure out shrimps and weaknesses for example jumping ability man my vertical was a 40 it wasn't a 46 or 40 45 um my hands are big but they're not massive right so you got to figure out ways to strengthen them so
your hands are strong enough to be able to Palm a ball and do the things that you need to do uh quickness I was quick but not insanely quick I was fast but not ridiculously fast right so I had to rely on skill a lot more I had to rely on angles a lot more I had to study the game a lot more and uh but I enjoyed it though so like from the time I was I can remember when I started watching the game I studied the game and it just never changed it's a
good separation for me you know emotionally to be able to put myself in a place where at practice or when I'm training or during games I switch my mind to something else I switch my mode into something else right for me it's the equivalent of Maximus desus Meridius and Gladiator picking up the dirt smelling the dirt it's go time right so that was my mental switch was like an actor getting ready for a film you got to put yourself in that cage when you're in that cage you are that character then when you leave there
something completely different but when I'm in that cage bro don't touch me don't talk to me leave me alone how did you get mentally and emotionally so strong where it doesn't bother you well you know it's you got to look at the reality of the situation you know like for me it's not you know you kind of got to get over yourself it's not about you man like okay you feel embarrassed you're not that important like Get over yourself that's where you go get over yourself right like you're worried about how people may perceive you
and like you're walking around and it's embarrassing because you shot five airballs get over yourself right and then after that it's okay well why did those air balls happen got it high school year before we played 35 games Max right week in between spaced out plenty of time to rest in the NBA it's back to back to back to back to back to back to back I didn't have the legs so you look at the shot every shot was online every shot was online but every shot was short right I got to get stronger I
got to train differently the weight training program that I'm doing I got to tailor it for an 82 Game season so that when the playoffs come around my legs are stronger and that ball gets there so I look at it with rationale say okay well the reason why I shot air ball is cuz my leges aren't there I well next year they'll be there that was it done done were there some names that you looked at and says these three guys or as crazy as I am I deal I at the time I deal with
what I referred to as Goat Mountain I went to Goat Mountain and I talked to Magic Michael bird Kim aijuan Jerry West Oscar Robinson Bill Russell you know so I would talk to them what did you do what were your experiences Michael in particular he's become my big brother he's been my big brother since I first came in the league and what was that process like so I went to them and started understanding the ins and outs of the game and you know how they approach things and their level of detail and obsessiveness and um
that's what I did the players that had that passion but weren't willing to commit their entire lives to doing that right it's a choice right you have other things you have family you have all these other things that you have to do the game can't really be your number one priority and so I just looking at that like man I'm this is going to be fun if if I'm buddies with you from high school if I'm a cousin of yours what happened to our relationship how how did that gravitate when you went into the league
and you're you're determined to become the greatest or you're determined to become one of the greatest what happens to our relationship oh It suffers it does suffer oh yeah okay yeah and you understood that you okay that yeah and the people that love you like friends and family like they know that about you got it so they let you be you and when you reconvene you know you pick back up where you left off but make no mistake about it everything in between is lost right so those long-term relationships the commitment of time of uh
you know uh taking vac like I see a lot of players take vacations with other players that are close friends and we just take vacations just to take vacations or just hang out just to hang out like I I'm not I never did that why not why why why didn't you do that well because when I retired I didn't want to have to say I wish I would have done more I don't want that you know I don't want that you know you got a lot of people playing their hard earned money to come watch
you perform perform perform perform it's your job to be in shape it's your job to be strong enough to perform at that level every single night and as a competitor I'm not I'm not ducking like it's not oh my God my back hurts I'm sore we got to play Vince Carter and Toronto Raptors tonight we actually had this happen we had a game against Toronto in 2000 um and Vince was tearing the league up um my back was jacked jacked but like the perception I of that like what Kobe's missing a game against Toronto and
Vince Carter because my back was really spasming but people will be like what oh he's ducking Vince excuse me no I don't think so so I would be in a layup line like okay there's a lot of days where you know you can rest and recover today ain't one of them your back can bother you any other day that ain't bothering me today we going he going to have to see me today yeah my man yeah [Music] if you're looking at a big Investments you got to make what is the decision making process there you
call is there first you do your own research you take this much time you call an advisor is there is there a system you it's pretty pretty simple for me it's it's do you understand the business is it a business that you can help in some form or fashion whether it the barriers of Entry to that business and then the entrepreneurs themselves the company itself right do they have a culture that you believe is sustainable are these leaders people that you believe in are they people that are obsessives and in turn have they created a
culture of obsessiveness so I tend to look at those four factors and that's it that's that's big right there about I don't know if you guys caught that right there that's pretty massive right there um same determination what's your current work schedule look like today it's it's uh it's different because I person personally am not writing every word of the novels I am not animating the films what I have to do now is make sure that the people that we bring in these obsessives that we bring in are challenging themselves to do the best job
that they think they can do that's what I'm there for is for them to constantly look in the mirror and self-assess and challenge themselves if we have a project and you saying okay I can do that that's not the project we want the projects that say I don't know if I can animate that I don't know how to write that story I don't know how to do that those are the things we want because through that Curiosity you'll reach a level that you didn't think was possible and so running the studio that's what I'm doing
you're playing against the Golden State Warriors score is 107 109 you guys are close to getting into the playoffs you know exactly what happens in the game you go up you're about to take your shot and then all of a sudden boom ailles happens right he went and hit the free throws and then you walked off the stage and he got the surgery got when I I went in the trainer room my kids are in there and you know they're looking at you and stuff and I'm looking at them and I'm like you know it's
all right dad's going to be all right we'll be fine we'll be all right we'll be all right it'll be all right as a parent you got to set the example you got to set the example this this is another obstacle this obstacle cannot Define me it's not going to [ __ ] me it's not going to be responsible for me stepping away for the game that I love I'm going to step away on my own terms and that's when the decision was made that you know what I'm doing it doing it you a freaking
D SC man [Music]
