Nearly 25 years ago, Kobe Bryant helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the first title in their eventual “three-peat.”
Bryant’s rise as a superstar in the NBA happened quickly and, along with Shaquille O’Neal, formed arguably the greatest one-two punch in the league’s history as well as the history of the Lakers franchise.
Bryant’s legend will be explored in CNN’s upcoming original series and will likely cover how he began to spread his wings despite O’Neal’s presence on the Lakers roster.
In an appearance on Podcast P with Paul George, Derek Fisher revealed he believes Bryant started feeling like he was sacrificing too much following the Lakers’ first title in 2000, as transcribed by Tristen Flores of Basketball Forever:
“We won the first title in 2000, and so I think that second year…in 2000, 2001, that’s when it really shifted a little bit to I think Kob really felt like he was bein’ asked to sacrifice a little too much in terms of what — again, you have to remember, Kob really saw himself and ultimately became one of the G.O.A.T.s,” Fisher said. “Right? And so none of the guys on that list were the second guy. I mean, if you really go down the list of guys that we have the G.O.A.T. conversations about, I don’t know if there were many of those guys, if any, were the second guy.
“And so I think in ’01, Kob started to feel like, ‘In order for me to be the G.O.A.T. that I know I’m capable of accessin’ — I’m willin’ to put the time in. I’m willin’ to wake up at four in the mornin’, no sleep, train hard, play in every game, play through injuries, do everything to become one of the greatest players of all time. Why am I being asked to do less and be less when my teammate that is capable of just as much or more greatness isn’t maybe investing that much time, energy, et cetera?’
“And I think that was the year where it changed a little bit from healthy — some of the tension the great teams do need — to a little bit more like one guy is maybe standing in the way of the other. And so for the rest of us on the group, we just always made sure that both guys understood, ‘We’re not pickin’ a side, bro.’”
Bryant and O’Neal’s feud in the years after was well-documented, with the latter getting traded to the Miami Heat while the former stayed in Los Angeles. Bryant’s obsession with winning pushed people away, but he eventually found his way and led the organization to two more titles.
It’s hard for any star to sacrifice in order to win, and it’s anyone’s guess how many more titles Bryant and O’Neal could have won together.
Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith want to be like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan
Kobe Bryant’s legacy is alive, and current star athletes like Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith acknowledged that they wanted to be like him and fellow NBA legend Michael Jordan.
