In an appearance on the ‘7 PM in Brooklyn’ podcast, former NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski revealed some interesting information regarding Kobe Bryant and the Knicks. According to Woj, Kobe was convinced he’d end up with the Knicks and would dream about playing at Madison Square Garden in the Orange and Blue.
“It’s funny, Kobe was convinced he was gonna end up with the Knicks. He goes, ‘They’re gonna amnesty me and no one’s gonna claim me on waivers and I’m gonna go sign with the Knicks,'” said Woj. “I said like ‘They’re not gonna amnesty you, they’ll burn this city down.’ But he loved the Lakers and he only really ever wanted to be there. He would fantasize about The Garden and… he loved this guy [points to Carmelo Anthony]. I remember standing with him at Staples Center and I would always talk to him on the way to his car and he was defending you. He was like ‘I told Melo, stop apologizing. Play the way you play, stop apologizing. It was right in the middle of the Phil [Jackson] stuff.”
Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony were two of the NBA’s premier superstars of the 2000s. They crossed paths several times over their careers but they were more friends than enemies and Bryant’s respect for Carmelo has been widely known. In fact, it was their friendship, and the allure of New York City, that almost brought Bryant to the Knicks 11+ years ago.
Back in 2013, in the twilight of Kobe Bryant’s career, things weren’t going so great for the Lakers, who had just been wiped out in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs. Bryant, who had dragged the 7th-seeded Lakers to the postseason, had just torn his Achilles tendon in a tragic end to the season.
At the time, there were doubts that Kobe (34) would return, and very few believed that he’d ever be the same player again. There were talks of the Lakers potentially letting Bryant go that summer and then-Mavericks owner Mark Cuban even suggested the Lakers should use their amnesty provision to cut Kobe and start a rebuild.
At perhaps his lowest point, Bryant thought that he’d end up with the Knicks for the final stage of his career and join forces with Carmelo Anthony to create a powerful offensive duo. Had the Knicks played their cards right, they could have become a formidable squad in the East with two legends leading the way to make history together.
Bryant also would have gotten to call Madison Square Garden his home arena, and it’s a place where he always looked forward to visiting. Playing for his home fans in the world’s most famous arena was the ultimate dream for Kobe and he likely would have taken that path had the Lakers not decided to keep him.
Sadly, the franchise failed to be competitive in Kobe’s final seasons but his legacy as one of the All-Time greats is already secured as a 5x champion, MVP, and 18x All-Star. He’s widely recognized as the greatest Laker ever for his skills, impact, and amazing list of achievements.
The man was a Laker for life but if there’s one other team he would have liked playing for, it is the Knicks under the spotlight of Madison Square Garden and their enormous fanbase.
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