Never one to mince words, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant found an interesting subject for his ire: AAU basketball.
Speaking to reporters after Saturday's 121-103 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Bryant said AAU culture is not instilling correct values in young players, per Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com:
I hate it because it doesn't teach our players how to play the right way, how to think the game, how to play in combinations of threes. I think everything is a reward system. I think the coaches who are teaching the game are getting rewarded in one fashion or another. It's just a showcase. I think it's absolutely horrible for the game.
Bryant has never been shy with his disdain for what AAU stands for.
Kobe told reporters in January 2015 that European players are more skilled because of the way the game is being taught in the United States, and he emphasized it in a November interview with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski on SiriusXM (h/t Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News):
AAU basketball is just killing us. There's so many games being played without a concept ...
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Article written by Tyler Conway
Kobe Bryant Comments on AAU Basketball’s Impact on Sport
January 24th, 2016 by Tyler Conway Leave a reply »
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