Jeremy Lin is setting the record straight about one of the most infamous practice moments from his time with the Los Angeles Lakers. More than a decade after Kobe Bryant’s viral 2014 practice rant, Lin addressed a long-standing claim made by former teammate Nick Young that he cried in the locker room following Bryant’s verbal tirade. Speaking on the Above The Rim With DH12 podcast, Lin firmly denied the story and explained what actually happened that day.
“To me, sometimes what makes a clip go viral is the snapshot that gets chosen to portray the moment. There were other times in that scrimmage where he was talking trash and I hit shots, but that’s not what gets put out there. Did we lose that scrimmage? Yeah, we did.”
“Was it disastrous? No, because that was every day for us. Every day was a scrimmage. Every day was talking trash. Some days you win and some days you lose, and then you move on. I heard Nick Young say that I went and cried after that. I’m like, Swaggy, I love you, but that’s not true.”
“Right after it happened, we huddled up, and I went straight to coach Byron Scott. Kobe was talking trash, and we had lost, and we were all like, damn, I want to play again. So I told coach, ‘Let’s go again. Let’s get another one.'”
“He looked at me and said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Let’s play again. Let’s do one more scrimmage.’ He thought about it for a second and then said, ‘No, we’ve got a game tomorrow. Let’s not do it.’ I said, ‘Alright, cool.’ And that was the end of the story. I don’t know where that other stuff came from. I love Nick Young and have a ton of respect for him, but that didn’t happen.””
The moment Lin referred to came during the 2014–15 Lakers season when footage surfaced of Bryant aggressively trash-talking teammates during practice. Much of the criticism in that clip was directed at Lin, who had joined the Lakers that offseason after the height of his ‘Linsanity’ run with the New York Knicks.
Bryant’s comments were brutal and quickly became part of NBA lore.
“He don’t want it… This motherf***** don’t got st,” Bryant shouted during the scrimmage. “Motherf*** soft like Charmin out this motherf*****.”
The footage painted a picture of Bryant completely dominating the scrimmage while relentlessly taunting Lin and the rest of the team. Over the years, Young added another layer to the story when he claimed Lin had been so affected by the moment that he cried afterward in the locker room.
Lin now says that the narrative simply is not true. According to Lin, the practice was intense but not unusual. Trash talk, competitive scrimmages, and emotional moments were common occurrences during that season as the struggling Lakers tried to find consistency.
The 2014–15 Lakers season was one of the most difficult in franchise history. The team finished 21–61, the worst record the organization had posted at that time. Bryant’s fiery leadership style often collided with a roster full of younger players, creating moments like the practice rant that would live on long after the season ended.
Lin also revealed that the tension from that practice carried into the locker room afterward. During the same podcast appearance, he said he eventually confronted Bryant about the situation, which led to an awkward stretch between the two teammates.
The former guard also reflected on how difficult it was to maintain his NBA career after leaving the Lakers. Lin revealed that in an attempt to prove himself again to NBA teams, he once gave up $7 million in guaranteed money to sign a $30,000 G League contract. Despite that gamble and strong performances overseas and in the G League, he never received another opportunity in the NBA. Lin ultimately continued his career internationally and was part of the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 championship roster before moving on to play in China.
More than ten years later, Lin’s version of the story offers a different perspective. Instead of tears, he says the moment simply fueled his competitive drive.
