Ex-Lakers Player Says Kobe Bryant Made Him Come To Practice Hours Early To Play 1-On-1

In 2009 Tony Gaffney was a rookie in Los Angeles Lakers training camp when Kobe Bryant picked him as his one-on-one guinea pig.

In a great interview with David Pick of BasketballInsiders.com, Gaffney described the one-on-one games, and it will only add to Kobe's reputation as one of the sport's most maniacally competitive people.

From BasketballInsiders:

"We're gonna start playing one-on-one," Bryant told Gaffney, according to the forward. "I heard you're a defensive lockdown player. So, lock me down."

"Obviously easier said than done," Gaffney said with a laugh. "But for about three weeks in a row, I was forced to show up hours before practice to play one-on-one against Kobe."

Bryant would invent various sets of rules where he could only dribble and score with his weak hand; some days he could only score inside the paint, others only from outside.

"Oh, and I never got to play offense," Gaffney said.

Kobe!