After about two weeks of sitting out of practice to rest his body for games, 19-year veteran Kobe Bryant returned Thursday — and he let his teammates know.
Bryant spearheaded an intense full-court scrimmage, highlighted by the 16-time all-star’s ceaseless trash talk. With the starters matching up against the reserves, Bryant went back-and-forth with Nick Young, while also jabbing at the other backups, daring them to shoot and calling them “cotton candy” and “Charmin” soft.
“I think he just did a great job of getting everybody else fired up,” head coach Byron Scott said. “He’s always fired up. That’s the great thing about him. He’s such a competitor. Like I said, when he comes out and he practices, the intensity level in practice goes sky-high. And he challenges guys. It’s what you should do. Today, (the reserves) responded by getting their butt kicked.”
The second-stringers wanted a rematch, including Nick Young, who relished matching up against Bryant for the first time since the former tore a ligament in his thumb while guarding the latter.
“You can’t back down from a challenge — no matter who it is,” Young said. “Me and Kobe are always going to talk trash and get into it. But when he talks trash to everybody else, some people tend to shy away. … It doesn’t matter who it is on the court. Just play your game.”
After practice, Young talked with some of his fellow bench players about how to deal with Bryant’s “mind tricks.” But while Bryant’s jawing threw off some of the reserves, he felt that it raised the level of intensity for the practice.
“As often as I can get out there and do what I did today, I’m all for it,” he said. “I had so much fun being out there. Just the level of excitement and to be able to play and compete in practice. I’ve always enjoyed practices more than the games.”
With the Lakers flying off for their three-game road trip Thursday, Scott thought the energy Bryant brought was just what the team needed.
“Anytime 24 practices, it’s going to be an intense practice, and I think he brings out the best in the guys,” Scott said. “And it’s a good way to start the trip. We know it’s going to be a tough trip. Anytime you open with San Antonio, it’s going to be tough.”
Bryant says he has always believed in challenging his teammates to see “if they can sink or swim.”
Matching up against one another, Young decided to send a message of his own, telling Bryant, “Nobody in the world can guard me.”
But Bryant had a response for Young: “I said, ‘Well, thank god I’m not from this world.’”