Drawing Parallels With Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant Once Recalled His Early Career Struggles

Kobe Bryant had a stellar 20-year-long NBA career. Winning five NBA championships and numerous individual accolades, Bryant became one of the most iconic players in Lakers’ history. But like any other player, Kobe had some low points in his career that he once opened up about while appearing on the All The Smoke podcast.

Bryant spoke to Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson and they asked him to share some of his career lows. That is when he recalled his early career days coming into the league as a rookie.

“My first two-three years were brutal, a nightmare. It was tough. I used to sit around and watch my peers play 35-37 minutes. You know AI, Ray Allen, they all doing their thing. Shareef Abdul-Rahim, they all doing their thing and I’m sitting here glued to the bench.”

“If I knew this sh*t was gonna be like this, I would’ve went to school.”

Kobe Bryant gets candid about his basketball lows and the breakthrough moment in his career. #MambaDay pic.twitter.com/pJIHk0Fe1t

— All the Smoke (@allthesmokeprod) August 24, 2024

Initially, Bryant mentioned losing to the Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals as one of the lowest points in his career. But the initial years in the league where he barely got any playing time was something that bothered him till the end of his career.

Coming into the league as the 13th overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, Bryant saw his draft-mates getting plenty of playing time on the floor. He took Iverson and Allen as prime examples of rookies being showered with minutes while he was warming the bench for a good 2-3 years initially.

Bryant mentioned how his coach at the time did not want to appear as if he was playing favorites. While his coach was right in his regard, this ended up pissing off the Lakers legend as he’d get no floor time and would warm the bench, fuming.

Kobe’s rise to stardom

It took a while for The Black Mamba to showcase his talent in the NBA. While injuries did play a big part in Bryant getting into the minutes’ rotation, it wasn’t until Phil Jackson took over the helm as the team’s head coach that Kobe got regular minutes as a starter.

His climb to stardom began in 2000, and the Lakers went on to win three consecutive NBA championships. Bryant and Shaq developed into one of the deadliest duos in NBA history until O’Neal left for Miami.

But Bryant was unfazed even after The Big Aristotle’s departure. Kobe got to showcase his skill set and went on to win two more titles with LA. He established himself as the leader of the team, and will always be remembered fondly by fans and players alike.