Kobe Bryant recently went on SiriusXM NBA Radio to discuss the NBA season writ large, and, not unexpectedly, the lines of questioning ended up returning to Bryant’s former team, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the season they’ve had in the first year of LeBron James there:
"L.A. don't play, man"#Lakers legend Kobe Bryant thinks LeBron James was surprised by the Los Angeles market. pic.twitter.com/HQVQfXbBWb
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) April 4, 2019
Bryant indicated that James might’ve been caught off guard by the extremely high expectations that Lakers fans put upon their team’s best player. According to Bryant, fans were generally only interested in one thing: Winning.
When Bryant’s team was not performing up to standards, he relayed the fan’s reaction:
“L.A. is like ‘It’s your fault. Figure it out. We don’t need to hear that. We need a championship. The buck stops with you. Figure it out.’”
Similarly, this year’s Lakers have underwhelmed for much of the season. Without the promised land of the playoffs reaching them this year, L.A. fans will have to wait until next year to see if James can live up to the hype.
Bryant, one of the greatest Lakers of all time, has been dabbling in various non-basketball ventures ever since he retired after the 2015-16 season.
Not unsurprisingly, he has been successful in those ventures, and actually managed to add an Academy Award to his trophy case at the back in February.
Though a successful businessman, Bryant is remembered far more for his incredible achievements as a lifelong Laker. The 18-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion has always been an outspoken member of the NBA family, and that outspokenness has continued into his retirement.