Amidst the frenzy of LeBron James choosing to sign with the Lakers, the megastar that preceded him in Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant, called into ESPN’s “The Jump” to be interviewed by host Rachel Nichols.
Here are some highlights from what Kobe had to say:
On his initial reaction:
Bryant: I had a gut feeling that he was leaning in this direction, but it’s always different when it’s actually final and executed. I was really happy for (Lakers GM) Rob (Pelinka). Rob’s my guy, man. I’m extremely, extremely happy for him. Happy for Magic. Extremely happy for Jeanie and for us Lakers fans everywhere. It’s a really, really big day.
On his specific reaction:
Bryant: I laughed, and I just shook my head, and I just had a good laugh with Rob and told him, ‘Dude, you’re an absolute beast.’ When the job first came up, (Rob) said ‘What do you think?’ I said ‘Bro this is a fastball right down the middle for you.’ This is right in his wheelhouse. Numbers, game, players, people. This is what he does. And I’m just so, so excited for him, the things kind of shaping up the way they have been, the decisions he’s been making. This guy is prepared for everything from A to Z and backwards.
On if he talked to LeBron James:
Bryant: Yeah, yeah, I talked to him yesterday (Sunday, July 1) and just told him ‘Welcome, man.’ It’s crazy because we’ve played together on several Olympic teams and have been around each other for All-Star games and things of that nature and have always talked about getting together and working out and doing that sort of stuff, but it never ever really materialized because I have all my stuff going on here in L.A., and he was doing his thing in Cleveland and Miami. But now, he’s part of the family. Right? So whatever he needs, I got him. When I came here, Magic (Johnson) did the same thing for me. Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) did the same thing for me and all of the other guys. It’s part of a community now. So anything he needs on my end I’m there for him and his family, and it’s all love. I’m really, really excited.
On his competitive nature:
Bryant: I am, and so that means I want the Lakers to win more championships. You know what I mean? That’s what it’s about. For us, it’s like the coolest thing in the world to be a part of this franchise. To see this franchise continue to progress and do well. That is the most important thing. It was true for Jerry West, for Magic and it’s certainly true for me. I want to see us do better. It’s true for Shaq. We want to see this organization continue to grow and win more championships, and have more parades. That’s really important. These last (few) years have been really, really tough, man, so I can’t wait.
On coming to more games:
Bryant: I’ll certainly be at more Lakers games. I’ve been really, really busy here at the studio getting things up and running. But we have things up and running now so I can take a little bit more time to come down and check it out.
On any advice he’d have for LeBron in navigating the expectations:
Bryant: It’s nothing that he hasn’t dealt with since high school. He’s had huge expectations put on him since he was a teenager, right? For him, it’s just business as usual. He’ll come to work, he’ll work hard every single day. I’m really excited for our young players, because they get a chance to watch him work up close, and so, I think that speeds up their learning curve. Because it’s one thing to be told this is what you need to do, it’s another to see a guy actually do it. Now you can follow that lead. I think it’s just important for ‘Bron to be himself and continue to do what he’s been doing.
On expectations:
Bryant: It always starts with a certain level of expectation. And expectation has always been, can this team win more games than it did last year. Playoffs wasn’t even a topic of conversation. Now you have an expectation to make the playoffs. Just the expectation changes things, the energy changes, and that’s how you start changing culture. They’re certainly in a good start right now and they have something that they can build on and build on pretty quickly.
On going all in with another top player immediately:
Bryant: I think what you have to remember, too, is I don’t think there’s much of a rush there. I think they have some young pieces that they can develop … if you look at LeBron physically, being 6’9’’, he has an advantage where he can adjust his game. We’ve seen him play on the perimeter a lot now, but if he feels like his explosiveness or his quickness to get to the basket is kind of diminishing, he could just as easily move down low and play from the elbow area, play in the post area. He can facilitate from there. So he can adjust his game in a myriad of ways.
On the aging process of playing in the NBA and making changes:
Bryant: Playing the angles. I learned, actually, about playing the angles a lot from watching Scottie (Pippen), how he behaved on the defensive end of the floor and the offensive end of the floor. How to conserve energy and maximize your level of efficiency. For LeBron, it’s the same thing, understanding the angles of the game and becoming more efficient with how you use your energy.
On the importance of winning championships:
Bryant: I think he fully understands what this organization is about, and he’s not afraid of that challenge. The beautiful thing about this organization is that there are a lot of jerseys hanging in the rafters that you can bounce ideas off of. You can be a sounding board for. Magic’s done that for me, James Worthy’s done that, Jerry West’s certainly done that, Kareem’s done that. We all rally around each other to try and help our organization be successful, so, I think ‘Bron certainly understands the pressure, certainly understands the level of expectation and he wants to get a championship back to the city of Los Angeles and we’re all here to help him do it.
On Luke Walton being in the same draft class as LeBron:
Bryant: I think it’s going to be awesome. I used to tease Luke all the time when we played together, I said, ‘Bro you were born to be the next Phil Jackson. You got the same height, the same hippie vibe, you got a bad back just like Phil had. You’re absolute tailor made to be a great coach.’ I think they’ll be just fine. Luke has a great disposition. He understands the game so well. And understands movement and how energy comes off of the ball and things of that nature.
On Jeanie Buss being in control, with Magic and Pelinka:
Bryant: It’s been huge. I sent Jeanie one message. I sent her a meme from the “Game of Thrones.” I sent her a picture of Khaleesi riding on the ship going back to her homeland with all her ships behind her. I just sent it to her. She was having a hard time, (whether she should) take over the organization or not. I said ‘Jeanie, sometimes the mother of dragons just gotta be the mother of dragons.’ And Jeanie went full Khaleesi on ‘em, so kudos to her.