Kobe Bryant enjoys silencing the crowd when he’s at a road game. But Kobe revealed that after Madison Square Garden, his favorite place to play on the road is at… Staples Center.
You guys know that the Lakers and the Clippers are co-tenants of Staples Center. Nevertheless, he loves playing there when it’s a Clipper “home” game.
Arash Markazi from ESPN L.A. has the story:
“When this building turns into the Clipper building, it’s probably my second favorite place to play after New York,” Bryant said Tuesday night. “They do a really good job and have a lot of energy in the building.”
“At least when they play us, the years I’ve been in the league, even when they were awful, it was always a fun place to play because the fans really got into it and it was one of those city rivalry type of games. It’s always been a fun place for me to play.”
These Clippers are no longer awful, though. The Clippers have the second best record in the league today at 25-7 and went on a blitz in the month of December, going undefeated in that month (the first time an NBA team went through an undefeated month in nearly five years). Their winning streak was finally snapped against Denver on Tuesday night; they had won 17 straight games.
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Kobe Bryant credits Chris Paul for changing the culture of the Clipper organization.
The Clippers-Lakers rivalry took on an entirely new meaning before last season, when a proposed trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers was nixed and he eventually was dealt to the Clippers. Paul instantly changed the culture of his new team and led the Clippers to their most successful season.
“He’s just a moody, little dude,” Bryant said of Paul. “He’s just a moody, little dude. He’s very feisty and he plays with a chip on his shoulder, and I think that becomes infectious.”
Kobe will get to play at his second favorite place to play on the road when the Lakers play the Clippers on Friday night on the battle of L.A. teams. The Lakers look to avenge a November loss at the hands of the Clippers.