ESPN most recently put out an article arguing that players dislike playing alongside Kobe Bryant. That is absolutely preposterous, unless your name is Smush Parker.

All the players that were mentioned in the article have, on the contrary, enjoyed their time with Kobe and the Lakers. It’s almost as if the article was putting words in these players’ mouth. 

Ramon Sessions' Departure

For example, Ramon Sessions said it was “definitely different” after he left the Lakers. But what does that mean? The article suggests that it was different for Sessions to play alongside Bryant, which on some level it is true, but not in a negative way.

The reality is, Sessions has pure point guard qualities, but he had to adjust in Los Angeles to fit in with Kobe. Any player who joins the Lakers damn well knows that Kobe is going to dominate the ball. LeBron James does the same on his ball club. The difference is Kobe is a shooting guard who has the reputation of a scorer, so he is going to take up plenty of shots. James is a small forward with all-around qualities.

Anyhow, Sessions probably left the Lakers to play on a team where he could go back to playing with the ball in his hands, but there is not much proof in ESPN’s article that he disliked playing with Kobe. He simply did not want to change his game and was not comfortable playing off the ball.

Jordan Farmar and Nick Young

But if players dislike playing with Kobe Bryant, then why did Jordan Farmar take the veteran’s minimum to rejoin the Lakers? Why did Nick Young take a huge pay cut to play in Los Angeles? These guys could have received more money in the market last offseason had they joined different teams.

Farmar played with Bryant during the Lakers’ championship years, and he definitely enjoyed himself and was honored to play with Kobe. Not just that, Farmar was on the Lakers when they were a mediocre playoff team in 2007. That was probably the toughest year to play alongside Kobe because he was frustrated with the team since he had to do everything. But did that bother Farmar? No, he stayed with Kobe and won two rings and was very thankful for it. Then he rejoined Bryant last year but, unfortunately, Kobe was injured most of the season. Both Nick Young and Jordan Farmar passed up on more money to play on Kobe’s team. 

The Shaquille O'Neal Feud 

How about Shaquille O’Neal? Sure, Shaq and Kobe did bump heads back in the day, but they were both to blame. In Phil Jackson’s book, “The Last Season,” Phil mentions that Shaq would show up to training camp out of shape. What’s more, Jackson revealed his frustrations when Shaq opted to have toe surgery late in the summer of 2002 rather than earlier. The downfall was that Shaq missed over a month and a half of the 2002-2003 NBA season, leading to a slow start for the team and costing them home court advantage in the playoffs. So it wasn’t only Kobe who was irritated by Shaq’s actions, it was Coach Jackson as well. But the bottom line is, to this day, Shaquille O’Neal enjoyed his time playing with Kobe Bryant and highly respects the Black Mamba.

The Chris Paul Trade

In 2011, Chris Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, and he was thrilled to play with Kobe Bryant. When David Stern vetoed the trade, Paul was extremely disappointed that he was robbed of the opportunity to play in the backcourt with Bryant. After the trade was vetoed, Paul tweeted, “WoW.”

Dwight Howard's Arrival and Departure

A year after the Chris Paul trade was vetoed, the Lakers made a move for Dwight Howard. They also brought in Steve Nash, but injuries slowed the entire team down. After the season was over, Howard left Los Angeles to join Houston, and ESPN’s article is alluding to Kobe Bryant as the reason why Howard left. Kobe may not have been a big fan of Howard’s giggling, joking, and smiling on the court, but he never pushed Howard away. He wanted him to remain on the team. He simply told Howard that if he wants to win championships, he should stay in L.A, but Howard chose to leave.

The problem was not Kobe for Howard. The problem was the coaching system. Mike D’Antoni’s offense was clearly not for Dwight Howard. D’Antoni’s offense was not made for traditional big men like Howard. Would Dwight Howard have left if Phil Jackson was the coach? Absolutely not. He was disgruntled by the lack of post touches he received in D’Antoni’s offense. And if people watched Laker games closely that year, they would have noticed that the team would jack up three pointers before Howard could get back up the court. That style of play was not for Howard, so he left.

Pau Gasol's Fondness of Kobe Bryant

Let us not forget that Pau Gasol was unhappy with the coaching system as well. He was forced to stick around the perimeter and was uncomfortable with that role. He criticized D’Antoni’s system a couple of times over the last two seasons.

Speaking of Pau, he left the Lakers this offseason to go join a championship caliber team in the Chicago Bulls, but Kobe was obviously not the reason he left. In fact, here is what Pau had to say about Bryant.

It was difficult,” Gasol told reporters when he had to inform Kobe of his decision to sign with the Bulls. “We have a close friendship. We’ve been through a lot together, and I’m sure I will miss him. But we talked to each other and our relationship goes beyond basketball and we’ll always have a friendship.

“It was difficult to talk to him, but he was very supportive and he understood. He just said I had to do what was best for me and what felt right for me and he was going to support me no matter what. That’s what friends and brothers do, and that’s what we are.”

Gasol spent six seasons with Kobe, and he has become very fond of the Mamba. It just shows how much he respects Kobe and how much he loved playing with him.

2014 NBA Costless Agency Fail

So why were the Lakers unable to attract a superstar this offseason? ESPN’s article suggests that stars do not want to play with Kobe knowing his style of play, but that is bogus. The only things that Bryant has done to disinterest costless agents are suffer two major injuries and grow older.

That’s the reason Carmelo Anthony and others were hesitant to join the Lakers. It wasn’t that they disliked playing with Kobe, but they were afraid to take the chance, knowing that Bryant is 36 years old and was recovering from an injury that has ruined many other players’ careers. It’s outrageous to think that superstars would not join Los Angeles because Kobe’s style of play sickens them. Carmelo, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh have all played with Kobe during the 2008 Olympics, and they were all satisfied.

Let us not forget that the Lakers were a lottery team last season also, and that played as a huge factor for this year’s costless agents.

Other Opinions on the Article

So why would ESPN try to destroy the reputation of a legend? Was it because Kobe called them “a bunch of idiots” for ranking him number 40 on the #NBARank, and ESPN felt obligated to fire back at the Mamba? That could be one reason, because everyone, including Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson, who spent 11 years with Bryant, is opposing the reckless article.

Even Robert Horry, who played with Kobe for six years, strongly disagrees with the article. A couple of days back, during a Lakers postgame show, the article was briefly discussed, and Horry said “haters gone hate.”

That just tells us that ESPN’s article is trash and pointless because everyone who has ever played alongside Kobe Bryant is strongly contradicting the article. The article even mentions that Paul George re-signed with the Indiana Pacers to avoid going to the Lakers to be on Kobe’s team. George immediately took it to Twitter saying, “now how crazy does that Kobe story sound to you? #MediaReachingAgain.”

The Real Reason the Lakers Were Ruined

And as far as Kobe Bryant ruining the Lakers, that is highly unlikely. The Lakers deconstruction began when the Chris Paul trade was vetoed, which crumbled the team’s grand plan. After the vetoed trade, Lamar Odom was dealt because he was part of the Paul trade and felt betrayed by the organization as his emotions got the best of him, so the Lakers parted ways. They traded him for a $9.7 million trade exception.

The dismantling of the team continued when the Lakers chose Mike D’Antoni over Phil Jackson. From there on, Kobe tore his Achilles, Howard departed, and Lakers became a not-so promising team. Let us not forget that before the Mike D’Antoni era, the Lakers were still a top three team in the West, even if they were unable to acquire Chris Paul.

ESPN had to take it out on Kobe one way or another, it seems. But again, it is only one article, which will fuel Kobe Bryant, and he will prove the naysayers wrong.

He’s a great leader and mentor,” Jeremy Lin on Kobe Bryant.

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About the author
Vahan Shakhpazyan
Vahan Shakhpazyan loves the NBA with a passion and has been an avid follower for 18 years. He is a UCR graduate with a BA degree in Creative Writing. The man behind the Facebook page NBA updates.