Kobe Bryant once tried to get Dirk Nowitzki to join him in Los Angeles.
Nowitzki became a free agent in 2010 and 2014 before re-signing with Dallas both times. Bryant, it turns out, made a longshot attempt at some point to get Dirk to join him with the Lakers.
“Dirk and I have always had a great relationship because we’re both extremely competitive and also both extremely loyal to our teams,” Bryant said during his All-Star press conference. “I’ll tell you a story about Dirk. He was up for free agency. And I knew what his response was gonna be, but just out of respect, I said ‘Dude, everybody’s looking around, all these free agents, I thought I’d just shoot you a text if you wanna come to LA.’ And he goes, ‘Dude, I would love to play with you, but Dallas is my home, this is my team, I’m not leaving here.’ So he and I think a lot alike in that regard.”
Dirk’s loyalty has never been questioned, and it’s one of the reasons he’s revered in Dallas. Still, it’s fascinating to think what the two could have done together. Heck, Dirk even said in his most recent free agency that he wasn’t going to get a Kobe deal, and he seems just fine with that.
