Kobe Bryant delivers motivational speech to Alabama football team

The Alabama football players received a motivational message from NBA legend Kobe Bryant as he discussed the importance of leadership.

Bryant, who won five NBA championships and two Finals MVPs, offered some advice to the defending national champions on how to be an effective leader during a visit to Tuscaloosa earlier this week.

Bryant said:

“To be an effective leader, you have to be a really good listener and not to what’s being said but to what’s not being said. You have to be really observant. That was a big transition for me. I went from being a scorer and a floor general to now — with Pau (Gasol) and Lamar (Odom) trying to win other championships — to being a leader, and that meant putting others first. That means not worrying about, are you in rhythm? Are you playing well in this game. Are you ready to go? To being, are they ready? What can I do to help them be ready? Right?

“That’s the big transition to me. You’ve got to observe them, because they all have things they want to accomplish as individuals. And as a leader, you’re like, ‘OK, what are those things, and how can I help them accomplish that within the system and structure that we are trying to do collectively?'”

It was clear the Alabama players and coaches enjoyed Bryant's appearance based on their social media posts after the speech.