During his 18 year career, Kobe Bryant has received the reputation for being a demanding teammate. Few NBA players share the same competitive nature that has driven Bryant, and his personality often clashes with those who don’t push as hard as he does.
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In an interview with Ben McGrath of The New Yorker, current Laker Nick Young doesn’t seem to mind Bryant’s hard ways via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters.
Young on Kobe: "Everybody says he's an a**hole & all that. He is. But he's — he's a good one, for some reason, you know?" (in @NewYorker)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 24, 2014
With Bryant sitting out the majority of the season with his injuries, Young has filled the scoring void by contributing 17.0 points a game. The Lakers often lean on Young in late shot clock situations much like the team does with Bryant when he is available.
With the Lakers struggling, Young recently mentioned Bryant’s playful trash-talking to the team. While it’s been a difficult season, Young seems to have relished on the opportunity to learn from Bryant and sees him as great mentor. Through the admiration, Young knows being his teammate has high standards and doesn’t appear to mind Bryant’s leadership style.
With 12 games left in the season, the Lakers are currently 24-46. Although they are headed for a lottery pick, Young doesn’t want to be the worst team in franchise history. To avoid that, the Lakers have to win half of their games and it won’t be easy as they face numerous playoff contenders.
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