- “Rick compares Kobe’s competitive drive to that of M.J., whom Fox worked with at Jordan’s basketball camps when he was a college student. Rick says: “There are no other individuals I’ve known who act like they do. To them, winning at all costs is all that matters. And they demand that everyone around them act the same way, regardless of whether they can or not. They say, ‘Find somewhere inside yourself to get better, because that’s what I’m doing every day of the week, every minute of the day.’ They have no tolerance for anything less. None.” But Fox noticed a difference between Michael and Kobe. “Michael had to win at everything,” he recalls. “I mean he couldn’t drive from Chapel Hill to Wilmington without making it a race. Whether you wanted to compete or not, he was competing with you. But I think Kobe competes with himself more than anything else. He sets barriers and challenges for himself, and he just happens to need other people to come along with him. He’s playing an individual sport in a team uniform—and dominating it. Once he steps off the court, though, he’s not interested in competing with you in the way you dress or how you drive. He’s obsessed with chasing the goals he set for himself at age 15 or 16.” Eleven Rings:The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Page 234