Kobe Bryant recalls the arrival of Pau Gasol at the Los Angeles Lakers – NBA Update
To say that back in 2007, the Los Angeles Lakers were struggling would be an understatement, given their lofty standards.
Super star Kobe Bryant was a lone sailor in a sinking ship, and even he looked to be on the verge of jumping over. Kobe wanted a change in the roster for him to stay and it did come. The Lakers traded for then Memphis Grizzlies forward Pau Gasol.
With him in purple and gold, the whole equation changed. Now, three NBA Finals appearances and two NBA World Championships later, Kobe gave an interview recalling the arrival of Pau, and the stuff he had to deal with before that.
For “stuff” read “incompetent teammates”, because Kobe had quite a few - centre Kwame Brown and point guard Smush Parker. Kobe revealed how he was extremely angry after another valiant effort in a losing performance when he finally got some word on Pau’s move to the Lakers.
“I’m steaming. Steaming. I’m furious.” Kobe told Hoopsworld. “Then, finally I get a call, they said, ‘You know what, we got something that’s happening with Pau.’ I was like, ‘Alright. Cool.’”
Kobe had earlier described how his teammates let him down even when he handed them baskets on a plate. Then he went on to tell about Gasol’s first game alongside him, and how he jumped with joy at finally having some quality assistance.
“The first game with Pau, we ran the pick-and-roll and I slipped him the ball. He catches it! I was like, ‘Yes!’ Then, he makes the shot!” Bryant continues. “So, as I’m running back to the timeout, I’m screaming. I’m jumping on Pau’s back. It was like, ‘Oh, I have someone that can play.’ That’s what I had to deal with the whole year. And Smush, I’m not even going to get into that.”
Bryant’s struggles with his teammates over his long NBA career are well documented, even when they were successful and talented. He had a public feud with retired NBA legend and Los Angeles Lakers great Shaquille O’Neal, with whom Kobe simply didn’t get along, despite winning 3 consecutive NBA World Championships playing together.
However, what Kobe had to deal with once Shaq left made him even more alienated. At that time, Bryant was regarded widely as the best player in basketball, even LeBron James could not get close to his career-high 35.4 points average. Yet, Kobe consistently met failure simply because his teammates were not of a high enough calibre.
Things got so bad that Bryant even considered leaving the Lakers. In the end however, the management succeeded in getting Bryant the kind of stars he wanted around him.
The rest, as they say, is history.
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