“If You’re Losing And Laughing, That’s Not Fun”: Kobe Bryant’s Biggest Lesson for Young Lakers Revealed by Larry Nance Jr

The late, great Kobe Bryant’s unparalleled work ethic, combined with his never-ending desire to win made him one of the greatest players of all time. Kobe demanded the same dedication from the rest of his teammates throughout his two-decade-long career. During a conversation with Kevin O’Connor, Larry Nance Jr. shared his experience of being Kobe’s teammate.

When Nance Jr. joined the Lakers in 2015, the Black Mamba was in the final phase of his career. By that time, he had already achieved practically everything the sport had to offer and was carrying his injury-laden body into one game after another.

The roster was full of youngsters like Nance Jr., who were just enjoying the experience of being a Laker. And then there was Kobe. Even though the players got to celebrate being down by eight after cutting the gap from 15, the Lakers legend didn’t participate in that. However, to draw a line between enjoyment and accepting mediocrity, Kobe tried to instill some important values in his teammates.

“We were just kids, on the Lakers. It was sick. We were just living our lives. He wouldn’t ridicule or put us down for that at all. It was…like, yeah, have your fun. Now, like if you’re losing and you’re laughing, that’s not fun,” Nance Jr. said.

The 32-year-old added that Kobe’s lesson on winning games has stayed with him ever since.

After the Achilles injury, Kobe was no longer the same beast that used to terrorize the league. After that, injuries kept piling on and he became a proper vet for other Lakers in the process. The best he could do was impart his invaluable wisdom to his teammates, and he focused on doing just that in his final years. Then he dropped 60 in his final game and retired.

The Lakers disappointed Kobe in his absence

In February 2015, Kobe picked up a major shoulder injury and had to be sidelined for a long time. He underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff and was seen walking around with a sling.

During his off days, he made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live and was asked to reach to a clip of the Lakers celebrating an overtime win.

While there’s nothing wrong with celebrating a win against Boston, the Lakers were on an eight-game losing streak before that game on . When Kobe was shown the footage of Jeremy Lin, Nick Young, and Jordan Hill celebrating the dub, the Black Mamba had an expression of disgust on national TV.

Kobe couldn’t find words to truly express how he felt, but his reaction did all the talking. Prior to seeing that clip, he talked about how it pained him to see the Lakers at the bottom of the table.

In fact, this is such an integral part of his ‘Mamba Mentality’ that one of his lines ‘The job’s not finished!’ from a 2009 press conference, remains iconic in American culture. So much so that once the Dodgers had used his line to motivate themselves after being 1-2 down in the 5-game World Series in the 2024 season, and successfully bounced back to win the coveted NFL title.