MJ vs. Kobe: Craig Hodges Breaks Down the Difference

FULL EPISODE: https://youtu.be/_plozEMWE3o

Craig Hodges played alongside Michael Jordan and later trained a young Kobe Bryant.He breaks down the subtle differences between the two legends and what separated their mentalities.

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(00:00) Intro

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and that’s when when when I was working with Kobe I would have to remind him our word was extension because Kobe shot so many balls not just shooting them but thinking about shooting them that he was always on to the next one and I’m like “No bro stay there with that one.” Because when you did that stay there till you see that [ __ ] go in and then we off and you go steal it and come back and do it again you know what I’m saying and again and again and that and that was the part that I love with you know working with him was that his um his mental focus and his preparation before I go out there i want to make sure that I have all the bases covered possible before I strap them on and then when I strap them on I’m gonna have that connected with that it’s gonna be ugly it’s going to be ugly i got to steal that when I’m talking to my uh my daughter’s uh team about what just the make all them shots one shot yes and that’s the And that’s the hardest part we’re going we’re going to touch on this a little later but you told me something that I thought was crazy super fascinating what’s the difference you play with M and you coach with Phil and and work with Kobe what’s the difference between those two in your opinion right hand why because what Kobe would be going to the line to shoot two MJ was going to shoot one so a lot of them knocks that Kobe had to shoot with two hands when that knock would happen MJ put that bad boy over here you know what I’m saying oh that’s the difference huh okay over there okay okay i didn’t hear that that That’s That to me is the the only difference is that gripper that gripper cuz I man I’m telling you I seen this brother make like he going to do a crossover and you come on man yeah that’s That’s a nit right there bro come on only Only Man I’m telling you him and Dr j them them hands they Come on bro you know what I’m saying it’s certain it’s certain and that’s the way you say like the creator knows who should have exactly exactly can’t question them you know what I’m saying what they what this is what you going to need to do what you got in your mind that you going to do and there it is go for it and then you have Kobe MJ that injured Westbrook you feel me got it when you look at people like John Morat Yeah who have that when you be like that’s a different engine you know what I’m saying i can work like I’m telling you I was with MJ four and a half seasons or whatever never lost a suicide never never lost a crazy never close no look at J that’s hard to believe some days you [ __ ] I don’t feel like running and we would ask Phil how many we got after practice and he would ask us how many we want because we knew he knew we was trying to get him mhm everything so it would be So you try to wear him down it would be like this all right me and BJ we going to go out hard on him oh y’all would team up on him oh please soon as a whistle blow soon as a whistle blow he damn near coming back at us that’s Yeah that’s different you feel me on the real and this ain’t no this ain’t this ain’t no job and I’m and I’m running I’m I feel like I could run all day you feel me and a quick and quick hand some speed yeah but man it wasn’t even it wasn’t even fair on the rail and I seen check this out Kobe rehabbing and we in uh Anaheim getting ready to play a preseason game right so going through our workout before every before other team comes out and then the other team get ready to come out he’s like “Watch this Hodgej.” Like what he’s like “Watch this.” He get on the sideline and start running like he same boat up and down the sideline where the other team coming out to shoot they can’t even look they looking at him cuz he running like he eating the lines you know what I’m saying and that’s the temperament that these young cats can talk about talk about different and you crazy so when we when we got with the Lakers we go to wife our first training camp we on the plane he tapped me on the shoulder man when we get in I want to have lunch with you okay get in go downstairs we have lunch it was all about man how did MJ make people better what was he like and and then I had never seen him practice son practice it was like watching Michael whoa the first The first in everything gas me gas me and mannerisms everything i’m like and then understanding that how much he watched him growing up but to be able to see that [ __ ] to see it put it in practice and then go do it he would call me and say “Haj we need some work in the morning.” Okay we get that 6:30 and he working on four spots that he gonna get 30 from that night and he ain’t taking no shots where they at box box elbow wing you feel me and I’m talking about precision and I’m pissed cuz it’s 35 40 minutes of nothing but D for me you know you know what I’m saying and I’m like and I’m knowing him he want a different look every single time yeah yeah and I’m going to give him that just from a competitive end and and and that you like I said like you talk about how much of a blessing it was to play with him play with MJ i guarded MJ almost every day in practice you know and I loved it because for me it was like when I know he going to post I’m going just front y’all better help me you feel me and then when he’s shooting I’m gone and now he got to try to cross match to get back and I’m shooting this thing yeah you know to have to to play with him and then to watch Kobe and to see Kobe say “All right man i’m gonna do these two footworks from here and I’m gonna get 14 i’mma do these over here and I’mma get at least 20 into the line for four more and we go back and it be them spots beat them spots because he done looked and said “Okay this team got this type of D they going to throw at me this team got this big down here so I ain’t going to be going down there.” And he too small to with me did you go to keep your train did you go with us to Spain no you weren’t there no so we was on the flight to Spain i told this story before but I just want to add on to what you’re thinking when you talk about the way he looks at defense so this is when everybody was sleep he was on the big huge plane with the family’s there and everything he has his headphones on and I think he’s over there rapping so I’m going to go talk [ __ ] to him i get up and there’s like 30 different courts and he’s drawing where the defense is going to be he’s like I don’t look at the guy guarding me i don’t look at the help i look at the third guy this is where you guys are going to be open at so he had some [ __ ] where L is going to be open me Steve Blake Fish Ron i’m like this [ __ ] is a sicko cuz it’s going to take three sick go but then you talk about his kill spots on top of that and I know how the defensive plays like when he he’s like MB this where you going to be open at this I’m not even worried about this guy i’m looking at the I’m just like oh this dude is not I thought it was a guy he wasn’t worried about and text winner yeah yeah i was too before I got on this team it’s crazy and that’s what when I got with the Lakers Tex would tell me “Man I would have to tell Kobe to get out of my room cuz we watching film.” And Kobe was like the first time he watched film with Tex he thought he was just going to watch film with him he’s like “No man we watched the whole game jump ball all the way to the end.” Yeah and he said how much that helped him make the game slow down for co you know what I’m saying and and then you know too man when you got green green green light lime green [ __ ] different man come on man Nelson gave me that you know and that’s the part like when we Doug Collins Doug Collins was like this and people was like man MJ [ __ ] a lot no MJ just had to make one shot anybody you make one shot Doug coming back to the same old school basketball he coming back to that same play twice so you got two times to score again so MJ will get on them runs but you could get on them runs too just you got to make at least two to three in a row and just keep it moving man but now now the way the game is played for me I’m so glad I played when I played man because to me it was it was more cohesive it was more I’m going to say formalized basketball from the standpoint that it was a position game to where now it seems like you know it’s positionless that if you can handle regardless to your size you going to handle you know you look at Joic and Luca you know they bring regardless of your size you can shoot favorite part about coaching code just to see how like you were saying how in your case how he saw saw how to help you get off when you didn’t have it in your hand all right and he told me he said “Man h check this out if I can get everybody to play at their greatest not Kobe great but their own ain’t nobody gonna beat us.” And to me that was something that I never would see MJ do you feel me if you got better with MJ you got better it wasn’t never gonna be like man brother Cob would give you kudos if you getting better that I didn’t you know I didn’t see that i didn’t feel that with MJ i was around him and I’ve seen how many players went the other direction because of how he demoralized him with his bravado you know what I’m saying where it was unnecessary you didn’t have to do that to that brother because it’s a dirt and that’s the thing is that it’s a d certain and different mentality and personality that we deal with too that some players are hardcore and can deal with it but other players going to back up and you know subside to it