The Golden State Warriors dominated the NBA in the 2010s before claiming the 2022 NBA championship, becoming the league’s greatest dynasty since the early 2000s Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.
The Warriors franchise was revived following Chris Cohan and Joe Lacob’s takeover in 2010. Since then, Golden State has added four titles to the three chips it won in 1947, 1956, and 1975.
Lacob doesn’t hide the fact he’s been trying to emulate the Purple and Gold’s success in the San Francisco Bay Area. And he’s done a good job at doing so, making the NBA Finals in six of his 12 years at the helm — a similar rate to the Lakers under Dr. Jerry Buss.
But Warriors general manager Bob Myers has said on Showtime’s “All the Smoke” podcast that neither Golden State nor anyone else in the NBA will have their Kobe Bryant — as he thinks there will never be another player like the late Lakers icon:
“When people use the Mamba Mentality, you guys don’t do that. You’re not him. Nobody should be allowed to say that. I’m sorry. There is nobody [in the NBA] like him. When people say that, it bothers me and I’m like, I don’t pretend like I do that, but I’m like, you don’t get to say that. That’s not a throwaway line… I’m sorry, but that went with him. Come up with something else.”
Myers explained he’s never seen anyone who would want to win as badly as Bryant did:
“Not many guys want to take your will… A lot of guys want to beat you. Not many guys want to take your will and make it, so you know never to try that again. ‘Like, how dare you try to beat me? How dare you think you’re going to come out here and beat me?’ but nobody lives like, that’s what I’m saying. That is not normal.”
Despite the rivalry between L.A. and San Francisco, members of the current Warriors dynasty have acknowledged Bryant’s impact on their careers. Klay Thompson has said the Lakers legend was “his biggest inspiration for playing basketball” after he passed Kobe on the all-time made threes list.
And Stephen Curry has said Bryant’s recognition of his skills was the validation he needed early in his career.
Dwight Howard explains differences between Bryant & LeBron James
The Lakers had the privilege of having Bryant and LeBron James on their roster in the same decade. And Dwight Howard had a chance to play alongside both of them in L.A., winning the 2020 NBA championship with the Purple and Gold after his first stint with the team in 2012-13.
Asked about the differences between the two NBA greats, Howard described how differently they prepared for games.
“They’re totally different as far as their personalities,” the center said. “Kobe was more straightforward. You know, he was always locked in. Just quiet.
“And LeBron, he has his music blasting. He’s walking around, lifting before the game. You just see two different types of players, but when it comes to the work, they are not strangers to the work. But that’s what set them apart.”
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