04/06/26
STORY
Alan Stein Jr. was a guest on the podcast months ago, and he told me a story I’ll never forget.
In 2007, Alan was flown out to Los Angeles by Nike to observe a three-day mini-camp for what was the first Kobe Bryant Skills Academy.
At the time, Kobe was considered by many to be the best basketball player in the world.
Alan met Kobe and asked him if he could watch him work out at the gym.
He wanted to see the “behind the scenes” work that Kobe did to perform at such a high level.
Kobe said, “Sure…I’m going tomorrow at 4.”
Alan was confused because the camp session was at 3:30pm, to which Kobe replied…
“I know. I’m working out at 4am.”
Alan arrived at the gym early to try to beat Kobe there, but at 3:30am, Kobe was already sweating and in the middle of his drills.
For 45 minutes, Alan observed Kobe intensely practicing the most basic drills.
Footwork…
Ball-handling…
The fundamental drills of basketball.
This is a direct excerpt from Alan’s book, “Raise Your Game”:
Then I hesitated, not to sound rude—or worse—condescending. “You’re the best player in the world, why do such basic stuff?”
He flashed that gleaming smile of his. “Why do you think I’m the best player in the game?” he asked. “Because I never get bored with the basics.”
What a powerful statement from the best basketball player in the world at that time.
Kobe understood that mastering the basics is what makes you great.
If this applied to Kobe Bryant at the height of his greatness, you can be sure it applies to all of us.
You begin by asking the following question:
What are the fundamental skills that enable me to perform at a high level?
In our professional careers, common fundamentals include:
Communication, project management, leadership, marketing, and sales.
Your career may require other skills you need to master to achieve at the highest level.
Be clear on what those skills are.
Then, ask yourself:
How can I consistently practice the basics of these skills so I can master them at the level of Kobe Bryant?
OBSERVATION
Research on elite performance shows that top performers are not separated by talent, but by how consistently they practice the fundamentals. A landmark study from Florida State University found that the highest performers accumulated thousands more hours of deliberate practice, focused on refining basic skills over time. The difference isn’t doing more advanced work; it’s never getting bored with the basics.
(Ericsson, Krampe, Romer, The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance, Psychological Review, 1993)
STRATEGY
At the end of the story, I offered two questions to ask yourself:
1. What are the fundamental skills that enable me to perform at a high level?
2. How can I consistently practice the basics of these skills so I can master them at the level of Kobe Bryant?
This week, I invite you to answer these questions and create a plan to commit to those fundamental practices.
If communication skills are important to you, create a plan to more intentionally practice active listening.
If you want to get better at sales, create a plan to record yourself having a sales conversation, watch it back, and identify areas of improvement.
Mastering the basics doesn’t only apply to professional athletes.
If you want to be the best at what you do…
Then you must commit to mastering the fundamentals.
Rooting for you,
Jay (inviting you to master the basics)
Global keynote speaker
Host of the “Unstuck” podcast
A Knicks, Jets, and Mets fan (I know, it’s been rough!)