Former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Del Harris admits that the late great Kobe Bryant wasn't the ideal teammate early in his career, noting that the five-time champion didn't have the patience for some of his teammates.
Harris coached Bryant in the latter's first three years in the NBA. According to him, Bryant's main focus was on himself — simply because he wanted to be the best. However, Harris observed that Bryant eventually developed into a leader as he matured later in his career.
“We talked different times over the years, but he was focused mainly at first just on him and what he could do to be the best. And for a while, he wasn't the best teammate because he was, you know, in it to be the best. And he didn't have patience for other players who couldn't do what he could do. But he developed maturity later in his career. And he became such a man and did things for others,” the ex-Lakers tactician said, per Eros Villanueva of ESPN.
Harris also reflected on the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant in a helicopter accident in January, expressing his regret for the early demise of a man who was bound to do a lot of transformative deeds in the world
“And the shame of it all is that, at age 41, he was going to make an impact for years. He had a program all set up. But it's a shame that he wasn't able to continue on for another 20, 30 years and show just what kind of a man he turned out to be,” Harris added
Indeed, Kobe will always be considered as the greatest Lakers player of all time. While he passed away early, his legacy will forever be remembered by the NBA and the players of yesterday, today and the future.
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