5. Attitude/Mentality
The last bullet point here — and possibly the most important one — is attitude and mentality. This team appears to have the right attitude going into the preseason. The leaders of the team are locked in and ready to get things rolling, the veterans are open to new challenges and eager to learn as much as possible from Kobe and Nash, and the young players are a complete open book excited to play for Byron Scott and play alongside the two perennial All-Stars.
One of the most important aspects, however, is every player’s attitude on defense. Each player is taking defense as a personal challenge — or at least saying they are — as the regular season approaches. When defense is a key priority and every player wants to collectively shut another team down each and every night, that’s a great attitude to come in with.
Kobe Bryant will set the tone with his tenacity, Steve Nash will exude positivity all around to keep the team upbeat, and Carlos Boozer will exhibit his level-headed mindset as a reminder to some of the younger players that it is a lengthy NBA regular season, and there will be ups and downs. The attitudes and personalities of those respective players could be the perfect combination to maintain what appears to be an extremely optimistic and opportunistic Lakers squad.
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Kobe Bryant After His First Game Back