On Friday, the wait will be over for Star Wars fans with the seventh installment of the iconic movie franchise, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ officially being released in theaters across the country.
With the Star Wars frenzy in full effect and anticipation of the film being a hot topic of discussion, superstar Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers was asked an interesting question by the media on Wednesday following the team’s practice in El Segundo.
Bryant was asked which character from Star Wars he’d compare himself to and gave a fairly predictable answer via ESPN’s Baxter Holmes:
Kobe on himself as a #StarWars character: "Darth Vader, of course. But I don't take orders from the Emperor…so…Darth Emperor, maybe."
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) December 16, 2015
Back in December of 2013, Bryant made his return to the basketball floor for the Lakers after rehabbing from an Achilles tendon injury that could’ve ended his NBA career.
Kobe was greeted at the Staples Center with massive applause from those in attendance but while the starting lineup for the Lakers was being announced, the team chose to go with a different tune. Bryant was introduced as a starter while the “Imperial March” theme from Star Wars was playing in the background.
After a rough start to his final season in the NBA, Bryant has begun to get back to form over the past few games. Although the Lakers remain at the bottom of the Western Conference, Kobe’s play is improving along with rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell.
The Lakers are coming off their fourth win of the season with a dominant performance over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night in their first game back at the Staples Center following an eight-game road trip. Bryant finished with 22 points and six assists in an efficient performance.
On Thursday, the Lakers will host the Houston Rockets and will attempt to make it two straight wins while avenging the blowout loss to Dwight Howard and company last weekend.
