NBA news: Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell is only one of a handful of players that have had the privilege of playing alongside both LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. While Russell’s stint with the Lakers alongside Kobe lasted for only one season, the fact that he was still able to suit up alongside the Black Mamba is a gift that he will forever cherish.
NBA News: D’Angelo Russell Spills on LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant Era
Being teammates with LeBron James isn’t bad either. In fact, Rusell came close to his first-ever NBA Finals appearance last season thanks to LeBron’s heroic play in the postseason.
Speaking on a recent episode of Patrick Beverley’s podcast, Russell shed some light on some of the major differences of playing alongside the late, great Kobe Bryant and the one and only LeBron James:
“My Kobe was old; my Kobe was on his way out,” Russell said (h/t Andrei de Guzman of TalkBasket.net) “… I’ll just go from an aura perspective. Kobe was on his way out, but LeBron is more involved with everybody and everything. On the bus he’s social, on the plane he’s social, he’s just more sociable. When I was with Kobe, I sat next to him on the plane and we sat in one of the back seats… I sat next to him every time and just watched and studied him and just chill next to him – he never talked.
“He was real to himself, and at the time he was writing the movie and the book, he was directing and doing all this stuff so he was locked in, but with Kobe I’ve never seen anything like that. When he walked around, you know how everyone’s talking and someone enters a room and everyone goes quiet? He had that about him like everywhere he went, wherever he went, everybody just stopped, just got quiet, it was almost weird for the guys. But he embraced it and that’s really the only difference.”
This is not the first time we’ve heard about Kobe’s unique personality and how the switch for his competitiveness just remains on 100% of the time. It may have been off-putting for some, but the truth is, this is what made Kobe unlike any other superstar we’ve encountered.
Russell did point out, however, that Kobe was already on his final year when they teamed up with the Lakers. This was both a blessing and a curse for a 19-year-old Russell:
“On the floor, he was on his way out so he didn’t really have that youthness to him where he was bouncey, he was just getting to it. Bron obviously still has a different motivation, he’s still writing his book (career). Kobe already decided he was retiring that year. Our team was, everybody was on a one-year deal and there weren’t a lot of young guys so our ‘win now’ moment wasn’t there…” Russell stated.
“It was a fun little run, but we got Kobe on the way out when he was happy-go-lucky and his spirit was a little different. Everybody always said like ‘Man, you lucky you got Kobe on his way out versus when he was still through the grind because he was nasty and competitive’ and everything you say he brought that into it.”
As Russell said, the main difference between the two generaitonal superstars is that as of now, LeBron James is still writing his story. D’Angelo Russell is there for the ride.
NBA News: Lakers, Bucks Spent Big in NBA Free Agency
The Lakers made it abundantly clear this summer that they want D’Angelo Russell for the long haul. They signed him to a new deal early in NBA free agency, which came out to $37 million for the next two years.
Much like the Lakers, the Bucks didn’t mess around in free agency either. They penned two of their most important players to new deals almost as soon as NBA free agency opened. Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez signed new contracts for $150 million combined, which is obviously a significant investment for the Bucks. However, given how these two have proven to be integral pieces for Milwaukee, most folks would agree that these are indeed worthwhile investments.
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