Kobe Bryant says Pau Gasol was so unhappy with his team for their poor performance in a 114-105 loss to the Orlando Magic on Friday night that the Spanish forward threw his shoes during a postgame tantrum in the locker room.
Bryant shared the information with reporters on Sunday prior to the Lakers’ 110-103 loss to the New York Knicks.
Bryant says he loved the fire from Gasol.
“That was the most irritated I’ve seen Pau in a long, long time,” Bryant said via the Los Angeles Times. “I haven’t really seen him come in and have a tantrum in the locker room, which is good. It’s something that needs to be done.
“It can’t be something where we’re losing and it becomes accepted. Or the whole ‘We gave it a good effort’ sort of thing. We don’t do that around here. That’s not what it’s about. It’s not about giving good effort. It’s about winning championships.”
Nobody will confuse this Lakers squad for a championship team. They have lost four in a row and 15 of 18. Everyone knows that they are one of the worst teams in the league — especially with Kobe out — but that doesn’t mean Pau has to accept the losing. He should always remain passionate about the team, regardless of how bad they may be.
Or maybe we all really have the story wrong, and the real reason Pau was upset was because he couldn’t find his European Men’s Carryall in his locker.
