We all know a sixth championship would not have been enough for Kobe Bryant who was chasing Michael Jordan since his Day 1 in the NBA, coming in as an 18-year-old in 1996.
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But it was all the Lakers legend wanted throughout his 20-year-long, tremendously successful career in which he earned 5 championships, 18 All-Star, 15 All-NBA, and 12 All-Defensive Team selections.
His desperation to get there was seen by everyone who played with him post-Shaquille O’Neal era in LA. And one of them was Matt Barnes.
Kobe Bryant rode with the Lakers until either party couldn’t
Barnes was one of the players who were once the fiercest rival of the Black Mamba and then became his teammate in Los Angeles wearing Purple and Gold later in their career.
The former champion with the Warriors saw how Bryant’s mentality and work ethic brought him as close to Mike as anyone could get.
Matt knew his desire to equal MJ’s 6 championships and recently told DJ Vlad how “Kobe rode that Lakers ship till it sank.”
Kobe was sick and obsessed about winning
Indeed, as Barnes said, Bryant was sick. Seriously ill with a winning mentality. The $600 million worth superstar of LA, saw nothing else, that’s why he literally maxed his knees and ankles out in search of winning the sixth title with LA.
He tried assembling a top team twice, once after O’Neal left in 2004, and then in 2012. Although he and the Lakers’ management recruited some tremendous players both times Bryant was able to win two championships with the former and none with the latter.
The latter consisted of superstars like Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, one of whom had passed his prime and the other was about to. And even after that team, Kobe tried with youngsters, trying to instill a winning mentality in them, but he couldn’t.
That man did not know where and when to stop. But that is he won what all he won in life. Be it his latter two championships or the success in his post-retirement second career which won him an Oscar. To live, Kobe had to win.
