Chris Bosh Was Shocked By How Early Kobe Bryant Woke Up: "The Goal Was To Be The First At Breakfast, So I Set My Alarm, I Make Sure I'm Up By Sunrise."

“It was 2008, the Redeem Team was formed. We were in Vegas for the start of training camp and we’re getting ready for the Olympics in Beijing. I wanted to establish myself as a young leader on the team by waking up bright and early [on] day one. So the goal was to be the first one at breakfast. I set my alarm, I make sure I’m up by sunrise, I get out of bed, I put on my gear and I head downstairs…but when I get there, Kobe is already there with ice packs on his knees, drenched in sweat.

“It took me a minute to figure it out, but this guy was not only awake before me, he had already worked out. He had just played in the Finals days earlier. Meanwhile, I've been off for months and I was still exhausted. What he did that day was incomprehensible to me...that dedication he had only days after falling short of an NBA championship, that taught me something I have never forgotten: legends aren’t defined by their successes, they are defined by how they bounce back from their failures.”While Chris Bosh really wanted to make a good impression upon his peers, Bryant was simply obsessed with the game and was willing to put in extra effort to succeed.

All the extra effort that Bryant put in reaped the benefits as Team USA won the gold medal yet again in the 2008 Olympics. Kobe might have left us, but his principles of hard work resonate with multiple NBA stars till now and will continue to inspire the younger generation as well.