Kobe Bryant Learned Tap-Dancing to Strengthen His Ankles

Kobe Bryant says he learned how to tap dance following an ankle injury during the 2000 NBA Finals.

Bryant, currently on a promotional book tour, told Jimmy Kimmel that it was quite awkward to take a tap-dancing class alongside bewildered children.

Kobe also joked about possibly coming out of retirement should the Los Angeles Lakers fall to 0-5.

Per Jimmy Kimmel Live! (via Lakers Nation):

“It was kept secret for obvious reasons. … I had to get them made. I couldn’t go to stores, yeah, ‘I’ll take those size 14 tap (shoes).’”

Bryant no longer considers himself a capable tap dancer, and he recalled the reactions his joining a studio drew.

“God, no. One summer, for a year there, yeah. I could tell my feet to do this, and they would actually do that. … My first class though, I walked into a studio and there’s all these 6-year-old, 7-year-old kids. Studio in Santa Monica and these kids are looking at me like, ‘What in the world is this grown ass man doing in here learning how to tap dance?’ It was fun.”