CAIRO - Cape Town Tigers head coach Rasheed Hazzard, who was assistant coach at the Los Angeles Lakers when Kobe Bryant was their star player, told ESPN that he learned more than 'Mamba Mentality' from Bryant, and that working with him was a lesson in humility.
As the Tigers begin the Basketball Africa League Nile Conference in Cairo this week, Hazzard said that he would be imparting all the lessons from his time at the Lakers, and at the New York Knicks, to the South African side, which includes Zaire Wade.
Most notably, Hazzard said, Bryant and then-Lakers coach Phil Jackson taught him to suppress his ego and to remain open-minded to new ideas, and that Kobe's famous work ethic and grit were definitely not overblown myths.