When $80M worth Nick Saban opened up about why he wanted Kobe Bryant to speak to Alabama players

Ahead of Alabama's College Football Playoff matchup against Oklahoma in the 2018 season, Nick Saban sat in a one-on-one interview with ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi in December. The Crimson Tide had just won the SEC title, defeating Georgia in the championship game in Atlanta.

Nick Saban invited basketball legend Kobe Bryant to the Crimson Tide's fall camp ahead of the season. The former Los Angeles Lakers guard inspired the players with his speech and discussed with them his work ethic. Rinaldi asked Saban why he brought Kobe to camp.

“I'm always trying to get our players to want to be the best that they can be and talk about self-respect all the time,” Saban said (Timestamp 2:43). “When they ask Kobe, you know, what motivates you more, you know, your love for winning or how much you hate to lose, he said, neither one.

“‘I want to be the best player that I can be. I want to get as close to perfect as I can and close the gap on that as much as I can with hard work and preparation and all the things that I do to try to be the best.’ That message is the same message that I'm always trying to get through to our players."

With the visit in August 2018, Kobe Bryant left a lasting impact on the lives of the Alabama players. He was able to echo the longtime message of Nick Saban about being process-oriented rather than outcome-oriented. This had some impact on the team's outing that season.

Nick Saban names Kobe Bryant among players he would love to coach outside of football

As the interview moved further, Tom Rinaldi asked Nick Saban which player he would love to coach the most outside of the game of football. The question was asked with prior knowledge that the coach loves players with an intense work ethic like his.

Saban couldn't name a definite player as he had a lot of choices on his mind. However, he had Kobe Bryant among the only two he mentioned, praising his level of commitment as a player.

“That's a tough one,” Saban said (Timestamp 2:43). “Whether it's Mookie Betts or Kobe in his day. Great competitor, very talented guy, but a driven guy to be the best player he can be. It's hard for me to say there's just one person that I would pick above the rest.”

Nick Saban had also mentioned Mookie Betts because of his work ethic. The eight-time MLB All-Star is often described as a “perfectionist,” who pushes himself beyond the limit and strives for consistency on and off the field. This was something also evident in Kobe Bryant.