LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant’s will to win and ability to come clutch was a major part of the legacy he left behind. Back in 2019, while speaking on the Knuckleheads’ podcast, Bryant went into detail about the kind of mindset he possesses. Kobe was asked about his February 2009 performance when he scored 61 points against the New York Knicks at the MSG. The performance not only exposed Kobe’s superhuman desire to win and score, it also acted as a wake-up call for his Lakers teammates.
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Kobe’s 61 points came as a result of him dominating each and every quarter of the game. He went 19-31 from the field and had no plans of stopping even after the Lakers had effectively won the game. The Lakers had lost the 2008 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics and were going through a stretch of injuries. Kobe explained during his podcast appearance that he wanted to bring back the belief to his LA Lakers teammates. His performance paid off, as the Lakers eventually won the NBA title that season, defeating the Orlando Magic 4-1.
Kobe Bryant’s killer mentality was on full show at the MSG during 61-point performance
Kobe’s Lakers were dealing with the absence of Andrew Bynum. They were also dealing with a couple of other minor injuries at the time. Bryant, whose winning mentality was well-known, could sense that his team needed a wake-up call.
It came in the form of a 61-point performance that effectively shored up his team’s confidence. Kobe claimed that Mike D’Antoni, the then coach of the Knicks, was under the impression that he would cool off. Kobe knew that the Knicks were counting on making a comeback in the game once he stopped plundering buckets. However, Kobe claimed that he ensured that never happened:
“No, it’s a competition. My mission is to destroy you. You know like, I am playing, I am not stopping at 30. I am gonna keep going until you figure out something else to do, I’m gonna keep going. That New York game, I knew D’Antony’s philosophy, he always thinks they’s gonna cool off eventually. I knew that. I knew I could get a good look. So, I was going to take my time, knock them down. So once I got rolling, I knew that was going to be the case.”
Bryant also revealed that the performance was a wake-up call for his teammates. Some of Kobe’s teammates already looked dejected and had seemingly accepted that the season would not go the way they had planned. However, Bryant’s presence ensured that the Lakers were in no time again looking like Championship contenders.
Bryant’s mentality led to back-to-back NBA titles for the LA Lakers
Alongside Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, Kobe was the obvious star in the Lakers’ roster. The Lakers had a number of top teams to compete with. Houston Rockets had both Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. The Denver Nuggets had Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, and Allan Iverson.
The following season saw them come up against the Boston Celtics in the final, just two years after a 4-2 Finals defeat. This time, Kobe produced an emphatic display across the series, finishing with 28.6 points and 8 rebounds per game.
Despite only being one of the major contenders, it was Bryant’s will to win and the ability to drag his team that allowed the Lakers to win 2 rings. The 2010 season proved to be his final championship, as the Lakers struggled to emerge as contenders again in the seasons that followed.
