SUMMARY
- During an appearance on 'The Late Late Show With James Corden', the former Lakers star was asked if he would have gotten distracted by Rihanna and Cara Delevingne sitting in the audience.
- In one of his interviews in 2015, Bryant made a bold statement when he said, "Being a great friend is something I will never be."
The late Kobe Bryant remains one of the best talents that the basketball world has ever witnessed. He was a part of the NBA for two decades, and his career is among the most successful ones. Bryant was widely known for his Mamba Mentality and fierce determination to win. We are reminded of the qualities that made him stand out and his secret to clinching five Championship titles from his past interviews.
During an appearance on ‘The Late Late Show With James Corden’, the former Lakers star was asked if he would have gotten distracted by Rihanna and Cara Delevingne sitting in the audience. It is quite common to spot celebrities in the crowd and players have been caught getting distracted by their presence. However, Bryant’s reply to the question posed by the host, James Corden again proved why he is legendary.
“No. I gotta be honest. Listen man, when I’m playing, I’m by my business,” the 5x NBA Champion replied with the utmost level of confidence and pride. Bryant emphasized this by repeating that he is by his business. In addition to this, he revealed one thing that he does before every game. “The only thing I notice before every game is I look up at the championship banners and think about ‘add more’. That’s it,” the former NBA player stated.
Kobe Bryant’s obsession with Championship banners negatively affected his social life
It is no secret that Kobe Bryant was obsessed with winning especially Championship banners and adding laurels to his name and for the franchise. In one of his interviews in 2015, Bryant made a bold statement when he said, “Being a great friend is something I will never be.” However, as he went on to explain, it made sense and can be concluded that his obsession with Championship banners negatively affected his social life.
Kobe Bryant really won back to back championships with this bum roster pic.twitter.com/xbG6Tkgt2b
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) September 30, 2023
The 5x NBA Champion explained his comment as he said, “I meant that friends can come and go, but banners hang forever.” He was asked about these statements a couple of months later and he said, “It’s crazy, right? It’s like, ‘This dude is nuts,” before providing more context. Bryant revealed that he loved the game growing up and he did not purposely become a bad friend but it required time which he consciously spent on winning.
Kobe Bryant took it upon himself to win titles for Lakers
Kobe Bryant is among the most legendary and popular players in the franchise history. He was loyal to the Los Angeles Lakers throughout his career and took them to greater heights. Bryant was focused on winning and took it upon himself to win titles for the Lakers. During his playing days, he revealed in one of his interviews that, “You have a responsibility to the city of Los Angeles to bring championship banners back where they belong.”
Furthermore, he added that the Lakers do not hang division banners or conference championships. They hang one banner and one banner only, and that’s NBA titles. Back in December 2023, the franchise ended up doing the opposite of what Bryant vouched for as they started to hang a banner for the In-Season Tournament. Something that Bryant would have likely not agreed with if he had been here.