New York Knicks star Julius Randle reminisces the one time Lakers legend Kobe Bryant defeated him in a 1-on-1, scoring 18 points in a row.
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Kobe Bryant is considered to be one of the greatest NBA personalities of all time. Bryant suited up for the purple and gold his entire career, and had a rather celebrated life in Los Angeles. The Laker legend is said to be one of the most influential players who managed to implant his famous “Mamba Mentality” philosophy into the minds of his millions of fans around the globe.
The Mamba had one of the best resumes. In an illustrious 20-year career, Bean was a 5-time champ, 2-time Finals MVP, 18-time All-Star and league MVP.
Apart from being one of the most decorated players in NBA history, Kobe also had an unparalleled work ethic and strive to be the best version of himself. Rightfully, he is been compared to Bulls legend Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate.
If there is one thing that Kobe absolutely hated, it was losing. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard had a crazy passion to win. We have heard several anecdotes displaying his tremendous competitive spirit.
“Kobe Bryant was losing 7-3, and all of a sudden he beat me 7-21”: Julius Randle on his 1-on-1 battle
Kobe Bryant is responsible for inspiring an entire generation of basketball players. Several current stars grew up watching and idolising Kobe.
Very few were even lucky enough to play alongside the LA icon himself. Current New York Knicks star Julius Randle was one of the lucky players who got to be on the same team as Kobe.
In the 2 seasons they played together, Julius must’ve surely picked up a lot of valuable learnings from the Hall-Of-Famer. However, Randle will never forget the one time he thought he almost beat Bryant in a 1-on-1 battle. Back in 2015, Julius said in an interview:
“Me and Kobe, actually, I walked to the gym and he’s there getting a full workout on, full sweat. He’s just, ‘Ju, come over here,’ and I’m like ‘Man, what in the world?’ He brought me over there and we’re playing 1-on-1 on the post. I was up, 7-3, we’re playing 21. And then, he beat me 21-7.”
Of course, the 36-year-old Mamba wasn’t going to lose against a 20-year-old rookie. This is just one of the numerous stories we have heard about Bean displaying his scary competitiveness. Definitely, there will never be any other player quite like the legend Kobe Bryant.
