It was NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles over the last few days, which meant the Lakers and its legendary players were at the center of a lot of conversations — including the late, great Kobe Bryant.
Former coach Byron Scott and co-host Jay Wagers welcomed champions A.C. Green and Josh Powell to a live taping of their “Fast Break” podcast on Friday, where they discussed everything from the purple and gold dynasty to today’s professional basketball culture. Of course, it’d be impossible to talk the L.A. Lakers without honoring No. 24, who died at age 41 in a January 2020 helicopter crash alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gigi.
“What I learned from him at 36 — I watched him go to three practices a day and have the talent he had already,” Scott said. “The difference between LeBron James and Kobe is that Kobe didn’t want no friends. Kobe wants to kill you on the court. His mission was to take your will when he plays you. Kobe cared about championships and winning.”
“For me, it was his obsessiveness to be great. Watching him — how he was with Vanessa and his girls — that’s something I respect and appreciated so much,” Powell echoed. “The later part of is career and before everything happened — that’s the thing people appreciate more. Him as a man, not just a basketball player. He was amazing with his kids… look at how he treats his wife… I’m grateful I was able to watch him on and off the court. I learned so much about business, being a husband and a father and brother … That’s something I always want to speak to.”
“Kobe was funnier than people realize. You had to know him because it was quirky if you weren’t around him,” Green added. “When he was coaching and I used to come help him give water to the team… being around and seeing the adult version of Kobe was so, so true. He would come up with the funniest things at random.”
The evening hosted by DICK’S Sporting Goods at SRGN Studios also featured a performance from Fabolous and its very own All-Star Game coached by Lonzo and LiAngelo Ball, complete with celebrity players like Chase DeMoor, Larry Sanders II, Hannah White, Adam W. and Jonathan Daviss.
“He was an old soul during my time and during my last championship. The things he talked about were life, how do you know when you love someone, he was the ultimate thinker. Seeing that kind of a person — he wasn’t trying to be famous, he wanted to be great,” Green also noted of Mamba. “Fame doesn’t come in the morning. Greatness comes with longevity … he would be the only guy to beat me to the gym in my career.”
“I got a chance to spend the whole year with him sitting on the bench together. One time he told me he never went to the beach, so we went to beach and just talked about basketball and talked about life,” Scott further shared. “This guy at 18 years old was working out three times a day. He already had in his mind that if he practiced two to three times a day and everyone else practiced once, he had in his mind that they wouldn’t be able to catch him. I loved his thirst to get better. We all know he had an unbelievable drive.”
“But even moreso at 30. If Kobe felt like you weren’t working hard enough, he would be by himself. His footwork was unbelievable, his work ethic is unbelievable and there are so many things he did that we probably won’t see again,” he continued. “When Kobe left he was the last of a dying breed. We got too many guys that play for the money, Kobe played for the love of the game. What Kobe was chasing was greatness. Did I know he would be a 5-time champion, 4-time MVP, a global icon? I didn’t see it coming, but that wasn’t his objective. He worked harder than anybody to be the best he could be.”
“It was a whole different dynamic, it was the way he carried himself. Kobe didn’t say anything because he was the one that put in the work. He appreciated guys who worked the same way,” Powell concluded. “Him and I were very close. He just set the standard. That’s what made us special — it was practices, the weight room, the extra shots, it was all of those things that made us special. It was him showing us the way. Lastly, it was the Lakers family. Yes, we’re players, but it was tradition — how you were supposed to behave in that jersey.”
