Over the years, we have heard many stories by the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant. Most of the stories highlighted the amazing winning mentality and work ethic that Kobe had, which put him a notch above his competition.
That being said, a lot of times, Kobe’s peers thought he was too hard on them. Or maybe he expected a tad bit too much. Former Los Angeles Lakers star Jeremy Lin revealed a similar incident that took place prior to the 2015 NBA trade deadline.
During the 2014-15 NBA season, Kobe was edging closer to his retirement, and the Lakers were on the brink of a rebuilding phase. Despite that, Kobe gave his very best for the team. But his teammates? Well, Kobe certainly wasn’t impressed with their performances (19:41).
“He was just stone-faced, and he was like ‘I just came by to say bye to some of you bums who are going to get traded tomorrow,’ Lin revealed in an interview with Danny Green. “And then he sits down at the table where you control the scoreboard at the practice facility and he said a couple words to the coach, and then he left. And I remember one of my teammates was just like ‘I lost all motivation to practice.'”
Kobe always wanted to lead his team to victory, no matter what the circumstances. But when the incident took place, the Lakers had a very weak roster. On top of that, the team was getting blown out from night to night basis.
But Kobe will forever remain one of the best players to ever play in the NBA. In fact, even today, many NBA players have him on their top-5 lists, which is a testament to what Bryant achieved during the 20 years he spent in the NBA and winning a plethora of individual and team accolades.
If the Mamba had a better team around him during the late stages of his career, it’s quite plausible he might have won another ring. Anyway, what are your views about Jeremy Lin’s story about Kobe? Feel free to share your views about it in the comments section below.
