Powered By Paleo Diet And Grass-Fed Bacon, Kobe Bryant Compared To Michael Jordan As Lakers Win [Video]

When it comes to the sports history books, Los Angeles Lakers lead player Kobe Bryant ranks among the NBA’s best scorers in history. Although Bryant may not possess a warm and fuzzy relationship with his teammates, Kobe’s Los Angeles Lakers overpowered the San Antonio Spurs 112-110 on Friday night, reported Fox Sports.

Bryant defended accusations that he lacked leadership by pointing to his championship record.

“Look, we can all criticize my style of leadership all day long. You can sit there and it’s uncomfortable, it’s whatever, but I’ve been doing that since high school. We play this game to win championships and I have five of them.”

As to whether he should change his style of communication at this point in his career, Kobe kept up his defense.

“It’s worked pretty well throughout my career,” he stated sternly.

Bryant repeatedly has been compared to Michael Jordan. He needs only 30 points more before he can tie Jordan’s place on the list of career scores, and it’s being called a duel of icons (below).

While it’s turned into a long-lasting sports trend to contrast Michael Jordan with Kobe Bryant, it’s Hall of Fame legend Jordan who eloquently described that internal drive compelling both champion scorers to victory after victory, notes Sports Illustrated.

“Stats define you when you’re 10 or 20 years past the game. While you are playing, what matters is wins.”

Comparing Jordan’s legacy with Bryant’s career history also reveals the changes in sports nutrition through the years. Athletes were traditionally told to eat a high-carb diet that was heavy on foods such as oatmeal and potatoes. But the Los Angeles Lakers pulled a 180 on that tradition by changing to a low-carb Paleo diet, reported Yahoo! Sports.

The shift to a Paleo low-carb diet was accomplished by Lakers strength and conditioning coach, Tim DiFrancesco during the 2012-13 season. From grass-fed bacon to butter, Tim urged the team to become believers in the benefits of caveman cuisine. And he challenged those who worried about their cholesterol on the high-fat diet. See the results of that diet change below in the team’s top plays.

“Contrary to what people might think, we actually want our players to eat as much grass fed butter and bacon as we can get into them. Will that sky-rocket cholesterol? No, just look into the science on it.”

Supporting that view is Lakers trainer Gary Vitti. He’s now proud of challenging the food pyramid concept and going against the grain.

“We’ve turned the whole [dietary] pyramid upside down, that’s what we’ve done. I went 25 years without having whole milk or a stick of butter in my refrigerator. I didn’t eat bacon. No fatty meat. We’ve flipped that upside down. Now 50% to 60% of our calories are coming from fat. It’s the source of the fats that’s important.”

Kobe Bryant agrees, pointing proudly to the results of going Paleo.

“I’ve seen great results from it from when I started doing it last year,” he declared. “Watching your sugar intake, making sure you’re eating healthy fats. You’ve got to find a balance in that system. It’s worked well for me.”

And they’re not the only ones. As the Inquisitr reported, both Phil Mickelson and LeBron James are following Paleo-style low-carb diets. James summed up the principles of his Paleo diet.

I had no sugars, no dairy, I had no carbs. All I ate was meat, fish, veggies and fruit. That’s it. For 67 straight days.

[Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]