Kobe Bryant is on the downside of his career, so he’s resorting to using his words as his biggest weapon. While many of his Team USA teammates feel like winning a championship will make LeBron James even better as a player, Kobe isn’t ready to crown him yet.
“One championship doesn’t get it, you know what I’m saying?” Bryant said, according to Sports Illustrated’s Ian Thomsen. “So for me, when we won one, it was a little different because it was, like you know, Michael (Jordan) had six, Magic (Johnson) had five. So me and Shaq (O’Neal) both were like, man, we got to get some more. One ain’t going to cut it.”
Bryant was asked if he reminded LeBron that he still has four more rings than the new champ.
“Not yet,” he said. “I will. I will.”
Even though many, including me, believe the Heat will reel off a few more titles in the coming years, Kobe feels like the Steve Nash trade has the Lakers in the championship mix. As long as he’s playing, Bryant won’t concede anything to anyone. He’s very much like Michael Jordan in terms of his competitive edge on and off the court, and we can’t fault him for his attitude. He still has been very complimentary of James in the past.
Chest bump to Complex
