x"This morning, one of our young guys, Quincy Miller, actually asked me a bunch of questions about Kobe," Shaw said of his 20-year-old forward. "What people don't really understand is the discipline to just come in the morning and stretch for 30 minutes by yourself when no one else is around, do the therapy and rehab and get your work in before practice even starts so when practice does come around, it's like a second practice for him."Nobody believes that he used to come in at 6 o'clock in the morning, but by the time that even the coaches got in in the morning, he had already been through a full sweat and he was kind of winding down from his own personal workout. So, he's a special individual that I was fortunate to be around as a player and as a coach.
And anytime that I can use examples to show how he kind of got to the level he did and maintained and stayed at that level, I try to use it."After winning five championships in L.A. together -- three as teammates and two with Shaw as an assistant coach -- the pair still keep in touch "once or twice a month," according to Shaw, even though they are now opponents."I was mentioning to somebody this morning how he's still not at the age that I was when I finished my career playing and just talking about how he always felt invincible and I would always say, 'Hey, you know, Father Time will catch up with you at some point and ice will be your best friend at some point,'" said Shaw, who was 36 when he finished his 14th and final NBA season with the Lakers in 2002-03.
"I think he's seeing that now. But if anybody can come back and defy the odds in terms of the injury that he's dealing with, my money would be on him to be able to do that."Shaw said the fact Bryant is still sidelined with his Achilles tear 10 games into the season shows that he has begun to think of his body in more mortal terms, even if his resolve to return hasn't wavered."I think that part of it alone speaks volumes," Shaw said. "I think he understands at this point, even when he was pushing it and trying to be back for the beginning of the season, that that particular injury is a tough one. Especially with all the wear and tear that he has on his body. So, I think it's made him take a step back and take a deep breath and say, 'OK, this is one that I have to actually allow to kind of fall in place and take care of itself.'"