“He was an assassin…He wanted to win and everything all cost”- Jason Kidd depicts Mamba mentality, says Kobe Bryant played with sheer will to destroy opponents irrespective of their physical attributes
Kobe Bryant has always been admired by his peers. Throughout his illustrious career with the LA Lakers, Bryant was known as one of the most competitive players the game had ever seen. Plenty of former players have jumped at the opportunity to share their stories of going up against the Lakers legend.
This includes recent former NBA veteran and current Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd.
Throughout his career in the NBA, Jason Kidd was known as one of the top point guards in the game of basketball. Kidd was a player who had plenty of encounters with Bryant as the two went toe-to-toe in the 2002 NBA Finals. Since his career on the court ended, Kidd has had the opportunity to be the head coach of a number of franchises.
The veteran guard recently sat down with former NBA players Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes on a recent episode of the "All the Smoke" podcast. During the episode, Kidd went into detail about a story involving his experience of playing against Kobe Bryant. Kidd went on to say that Bryant was an "assassin" and wanted to win at all cost.
"We're playing in the playoffs and I know which way Kobe wants to go. And he gets to go where he went and he jumps and I jump. Unfortunately, his jump is a little higher and longer. I jump like my elevator can only go so high and then it says return.
"So he hit a game-winner over me in the playoffs, but when you talk about Kobe and his competitiveness, it didn't matter how big or how small you were. He was gonna try to destroy you. Yes.
"And that's what separated him from everyone. He was an assassin. He would cut you and by the end of the game you didn't know that you were gonna bleed out. And so and so it that's just his mentality and he he wanted to to win and everything all cost."
Jason Kidd shares story about LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant
There's been no shortage of memorable stories when it comes to LA Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant. The story shared by Jason Kidd just continues to build the legacy of the type of competitor and opponent that Kobe was.
Throughout his time on the hardwood, Bryant became one of the top players in the history of the game. He was a relentless worker who did everything in his power to succeed at the highest level. Bryant went on to win five championships during his career with the LA Lakers.
🏾"Kobe for sure was number one on my list… I'm going at, arguably, the greatest of all time."
Kyrie Irving talks about competing against Kobe Bryant 🙏🏾
(via @uninterrupted)
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He is still considered to this day to be one of the top players that has ever stepped foot on a basketball court. Throughout his 20 year career in the NBA, Kobe went on to average 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.