Kobe Bryant

I have always known how good Kobe is, but he's always played for a good team so it just seemed natural. At the start of this season, the Lakers were really struggling, especially when they were on the road, but Kobe somehow managed to be among the highest scorers of the game, and consistently at the top of the stats. I have seen the Washington Wizards play a few times and I went to see them play the Lakers in Washington, DC in December 2012. Whenever Kobe had the ball, the crowd would chant "MVP". It was ridiculous. Washington, DC is about as far from Los Angeles as he could travel, and he was still the people's favourite player. My other reason for my new found love of Kobe is his twitter account, I love how he gladly admits when he's had a bad game, and is updating constantly about how he has to keep working hard to stay competitive. Here is an example: https://twitter.com/kobebryant/status/293116342956064769. 

The Lakers are far from my favourite team, but I'm constantly impressed by Kobe's attitude.

photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/compujeramey/71084472/

Tiger

Tiger doing what Tiger does. I followed him around in his final round at the AT&T National in Maryland last year and it was one of the best and hottest days of my life. His mental state while he plays is amazing.