Kobe Bryant Articles - Page 40

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020 — headlined by NBA icons Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett — will have to wait for immortalized enshrinement until 2021. According to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan and Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hall is pushing the ceremony until next year due to the threats of the coronavirus […]

Since the tragic passing of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant back in January, every player that played alongside him or went up against him has a distinct memory of the five-time NBA champion and what he meant to them. Former Lakers forward Caron Butler is no different. Even though Butler only played one season […]

Tarik Black, a 6-foot-9 center who played in the NBA between 2014 and 2018, is not exactly a household name. Nevertheless, the former Kansas standout had the privilege of playing alongside the late Kobe Bryant during his brief stint with the Los Angeles Lakers. Black recently spoke with Matt Trait of KUsports.com and revealed the […]

For retired NBA player Metta Sandiford-Artest, there is no doubt who are the best duo in the NBA. Recently, the former Los Angeles Lakers forward  tweeted a photo of Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal and the late Kobe Bryant, calling them the best one-two punch in league history. Best @NBA duo ever. Hands down. Go […]

Revisionist history often leads to some accurate perspective, while some other times it leads to wild statements. Scottie Pippen, who spent the bulk of his NBA career playing next to Michael Jordan as his sidekick, once suggested that Kobe Bryant was better than the Chicago Bulls GOAT. Pippen’s comments occurred right before All-Star Weekend, but […]

Most touched by the life of Kobe Bryant have at one point or another found themselves thinking of him, and Los Angeles Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss is no exception. Buss recently admitted to Joe Buck and Oliver Hudson on the Daddy Issues podcast that she still has dreams involving Kobe. Via Tania Ganguli of the […]

There have been plenty of memorable playoff matchups throughout the NBA’s existence mostly because of the grueling competitive basketball between two equally deserving clubs. But in some cases, the ending is mired with controversy. Here are some of the five notable ones. 5. 1998 NBA Finals Fresh off the unparalleled success of ESPN and Netflix’s […]

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is considering postponing the induction of the Class of 2020 for a later date. This year’s class — which is headlined by NBA greats Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett — was set to be inducted on Aug. 29 in Springfield. According to Gary Washburn of the Boston […]

One of Kobe Bryant’s championship rings with the Los Angeles Lakers was sold for over $200,000 in an auction, per TMZ Sports. Bryant initially gifted a pair of identical rings to his parents after his first championship following the 1999-2000 season. However, Kobe’s mother, Pamela Bryant, attempted to sell the rings after the Black Mamba […]

No matter what happens, debates in the NBA will always happen. Recently, “The Last Dance” documentary lit up the debates about Michael Jordan and LeBron James. On ESPN Countdown, the crew discussed about Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. Paul Pierce gave the nod to Kobe for the reason […]

It’s no secret that Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant modeled his game after Michael Jordan — down to every pump fake, pivot, and fade-away. According to one former teammate of Bryant’s, the comparisons apply off the court, too. On Wireside Chat with Houston Rockets broadcaster Craig Ackerman, seven-time champion Robert Horry said The Last […]

He may be gone, but Kobe Bryant continues to make an impact in the world. Granity Studios, Bryant’s multi-media content company, will release a novel “Geese are Never Swans” created by the late Los Angeles Lakers legend. Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, shared on Instagram a sneak peak of her late husbands posthumous novel and called […]

Amid all the noise surrounding Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James’ rightful place in the all-time rankings, “The King” has found himself an ally in Kendrick Perkins. The bruising enforcer turned ESPN analyst once again backed up the four-time MVP in a heated debate with his former Boston Celtics teammate Paul Pierce on Friday.  Pierce, […]

The late Kobe Bryant did not get along with Dwight Howard during the latter’s first stint with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012-13. However, things seemed to have changed before the 2019-20 campaign started. According to team owner Jeanie Buss, the Lakers icon did approve of the Howard signing last summer, signaling a possible change […]

Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson took a swing by memory lane, sharing an old photo from the vault, remembering the time he attended the late great Kobe Bryant’s Skills Academy. Judging by the third photo in his Instagram post, this appears to take place in 2007, which coincides with his senior year of […]

Many have wondered what could have been if the Los Angeles Lakers had won their fourth title in five years by beating the Detroit Pistons in 2004. For Kareem Rush, a lot of the blame lies with Kobe Bryant, who badly wanted some self-recognition during that series. At the time, the Lakers had a who’s […]

Many have wondered what the Toronto Raptors would have looked like if they had kept Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady as their core players for a longer stretch. According to McGrady, it would have meant matching up against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers and playing for a championship. The Hall of Famer told […]

Charles Barkley has chimed on on the whole Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James debate. Barkley, who himself had the opportunity to play against Jordan on more than a few occasions during his heyday, says that he believes it is simply not right to compare LeBron to MJ. “In my opinion, Michael the GOAT,” Barkley said […]

The late NBA icon Kobe Bryant is indeed the player that resembled Michael Jordan on the hardwood the most. In fact, Bryant even came to the league believing he was better than His Airness, according to Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady. In an appearance on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson’s All The Smoke Podcast, McGrady […]

Kobe Bryant not only won five championships and two Finals MVPs with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he also made $323,312,307, per Spotrac. During his rookie season with the Lakers in 1996, Bryant made $1,015,000. He finished the year with averages of 7.6 points per game. In his second year in the NBA, Kobe Bryant […]

Shaquille O’Neal says Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant belongs in the GOAT debate with Michael Jordan and LeBron James. After “The Last Dance” docuseries concluded, O’Neal spoke to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith about the similarities between Bryant and Jordan and how the late Lakers icon was lucky to have developed a relationship with MJ, […]

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers swept the New Jersey Nets back in the 2002 NBA Finals with relative ease. However, Bryant may have had to deal with food poisoning, just like Michael Jordan. Rumor has it that the late Lakers legend was allegedly poisoned by a New Jersey mob. The food poisoning obviously […]

Vince Carter is just the latest of many NBA players to chip in on the GOAT debate. The 42-year-old, who has now played in four different decades, put Michael Jordan atop the list, followed by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. However, Carter argued it would be possible for James to leapfrog Bryant in those rankings […]

Los Angeles Lakers legend Pau Gasol recently went on an interview with Omar Raja of ESPN, and as expected, one of the topics of the conversation delved into his relationship with the late great Kobe Bryant. An emotional Gasol opened up about Bryant and how they had an instant connection from the get-go. This was […]

ABC aired the historic farewell game of the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant on Saturday night. Larry Nance Jr., Bryant’s former teammate, tuned in to reminisce that game against the Utah Jazz and still couldn’t believe what the Black Mamba did on that special day. Sitting here watching this game like I don’t […]

During his AMA session on Reddit, former Los Angeles Lakers big man Horace Grant was asked to speak about his relationship with the late Kobe Bryant. Grant and Bryant won the 2001 championship together when the Lakers defeated Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers in five games. Horace, who played with Michael Jordan on the […]

During an AMA session on Reddit, NBA champion Horace Grant was asked to compare legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Grant played with Jordan and Bryant during his NBA career, winning three championships with MJ on the Chicago Bulls and one with Kobe on the Los Angeles Lakers. The four-time champion says while he would […]

A helicopter crash in Calabasas, California last Jan. 26 claimed the lives of nine people on board, most notably among the victims were Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his then-13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant. Now, nearly four months since the tragic accident, the Los Angeles County’s medical examiner department released the coroner’s autopsy report. […]

Longtime Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier revealed the reason why he infamously defended Kobe Bryant with a hand to the face. The defensive specialist had plenty of wars with the Los Angeles Lakers great during his time in the league, and he insists defending Bryant like that wasn’t a matter of blocking his vision. In […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are the most popular and recognized franchise in NBA history. No, they don’t own the most championships (that title belongs to the Boston Celtics), but if you went around the world, chances are, you would find more Lakers fans than anything else. It’s why there’s often an argument over all time […]

During the 2014-15 season, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant showed up to practice once while injured to say goodbye to some of the players he thought were about to get traded at the 2015 trade deadline. However, this wasn’t a tearful goodbye. Instead, the late Lakers icon was saying goodbye in “Black Mamba” fashion, […]

Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard took some time on Wednesday to reflect on all things Purple and Gold, from his first stint with the team (2012-13) to his current role. Howard went into detail on his experience with the Lakers as part of Jared Dudley’s Instagram live stream, and he spoke a little about […]

Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard believes his first stint in Hollywood was ruined by an excess of egos. Howard told Lakers teammate Jared Dudley he felt he and Kobe Bryant were at different stages of their career during that 2012-13 season, and thus had trouble communicating. Dwight Howard to @JaredDudley619 over Inta Live: "I […]

The rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics goes back decades. The two storied franchises have 33 NBA titles between them. They met in the NBA Finals on numerous occasions with the most recent being 10 years ago when Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol led the way against a star-studded Celtics roster, which […]

According to former Detroit Pistons guard Rip Hamilton, the only player he was scared of was the great Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant. Hamilton joined the CBS Sports HQ where they discussed the top 15 players in NBA history according to CBS Sports. Bryant was placed at number 10 which Hamilton thought was too […]

During his Hall of Fame career with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant made $323,312,307 through NBA contracts alone, per Spotrac. The Charlotte Hornets drafted Bryant with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 draft. The team then traded Kobe to the Lakers, and the rest is history. The first contract Kobe Bryant signed with […]

During the Los Angeles Lakers’ run of dominance between 2008 and 2010, forward Pau Gasol played a pivotal role in the team’s success. The team acquired Gasol in a blockbuster trade with the Memphis Grizzlies in February of 2008, and the team was off and running as a legitimate title contender once again. Gasol proved […]

Island Express, the helicopter company sued for negligence multiple times by victims of the helicopter crash that killed nine people in late January, including Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, argued Bryant and his daughter Gianna knew the risk of flying before the crash. According to documents acquired by TMZ Sports, the company hopes to […]

The Mamba Sports Academy is retiring the “Mamba” from its name out of respect for the late Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The name will be officially changed back to “The Sports Academy” on Tuesday, featuring a new website and a logo re-branding, according to CEO […]