Former long-time Los Angeles Lakers trainer Gary Vitti says Lakers legend Kobe Bryant is the toughest player he has ever been around.

Throughout his legendary NBA career, Bryant played through a multitude of injuries, including a dislocated finger, a torn labrum in his shoulder, and sprained MCL in his knee, just to name a few.

The five-time NBA champion also hit two free-throws against the Golden State Warriors after tearing his Achilles tendon.

Vitti says Kobe Bryant's toughness wasn't just physical, it was also mental, via Brandon ‘Scoop B' Robinson of Scoop B Radio:

“Kobe was tougher than anybody than I have ever come around,” Vitti said. “He basically eliminated the word can’t and won’t out of his lexicon and replaced them with can and will. He just believes that he can do it no matter what it was. If you want, I will finish this and then I can tell you a story. I will admire the way he looks at things. Tougher than anyone that I had ever been around and you know I have worked football and everything and this guy is a different cat.

“The other thing about Kobe is he was intellectually brilliant at the game. So when we would come into locker room at halftime and some of his teammates were checking their cell phones for tweets and emails and text messages, Kobe was in the training room with a laptop looking at cuts in the first half, so he could figure out how he could counter it in the second half. He is an intellectually brilliant guy.”

Vitti is right. Kobe Bryant was just built differently. He was obsessed with winning and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. He never used injuries as an excuse. After all, this is the same guy who shot a ball with his left hand after he hurt his right shoulder during the game. In a separate game, he also completed a pair of free throws right after tearing his Achilles. That's Kobe for you.