Gordon Hayward recalls Kobe Bryant giving crash course in Mamba mentality during workout: "Whole thing was him testing me"

There have been some crazy stories about Kobe Bryant, and Charlotte Hornets star Gordon Hayward recently added another one. Hayward had the chance to have a workout with the late superstar and it helped him become a star. He shared the story in the newest episode of Podcast P with Paul George.

Hayward is one of the best starting small forwards today. But he worked extremely hard on his game to be at par with some of the best players in the league. According to him, the mentorship he received from Bryant took him to the next level.

The Hornets forward shared that he once met up with Bryant for a workout. The LA Lakers legend gave him an address and asked him to reach the venue at 7:00 AM.

"I don't know what's about to happen, but I know that Kobe's crazy," Hayward said. "And I was thinking he could have me running around this gym, I gotta be well fueled."

The former Butler standout was on time and waited for the icon for 30 minutes. He told George that he sent a message to Bryant just to confirm that he was at the right address. Five minutes later, the Lakers star arrived and started his workout with Hayward.

Bryant set up another workout session with the one-time All-Star. This time, a bit earlier.

"So the next day, we showed up at the spot 5:45, Kobe was there before us. Opened up the door, like we go in there, did another workout. He stayed after for 30 minutes. We watched film and it was like that the next two days."

"I think the whole thing was him just testing me, like 'Who is this? Does he wanna work? Is he gonna be bulls*******? What's his deal? Cause I'm not going to put in the effort if he's not going to.' He taught me, more than anything, just the mentality," Hayward added.

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No one can compare to the work ethic and mentorship of the five-time champion. Luckily for Hayward, he came prepared.

Also read: “Couldn’t compete against bro in his shoes LOL”: 2x NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas nostalgically recalls Kobe Bryant's final game in Boston

Gordon Hayward had the chance to play against Kobe Bryant in latter's final game

No one can forget the legendary finale of Kobe Bryant's career. His final game came against the Utah Jazz where he scored 60 points to end his illustrious career with a win.

Hayward was part of the Jazz at the time. He didn't back down to the challenge and gave it his all. He was the primary defender for most of the game and held Bryant to only 28% shooting from beyond the arc.