Shannon Sharpe rekindled the admiration for Kobe Bryant around the Los Angeles Lakers organization with his recent comments. The sports analyst shed light on the impact of the late great on the franchise in the latest episode of Nightcap. In the presence of Gilbert Arenas, the 56-year-old discussed the 5x champion’s influence using LeBron James as a reference point.
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“They look at LeBron [James] as an adversary to Kobe [Bryant] and anybody that can possibly threaten Kobe,” Shannon stated. Following this, he pointed out the absurdness of that thinking, mentioning, “That’s a no go”. “Kobe is a god to the Lakers,” Sharpe declared publicly before justifying his viewpoint on the matter.
The sports analyst shed light on Bryant’s overall tenure in the City of Angels as a major factor behind his stance. He highlighted, “Nobody is on the level of Kobe in a Lakers uniform because they saw a 17-year-old boy come here, mature, grow and they saw every step of the way”. “Nobody is gonna replace Kobe,” the 3x Super Bowl champion further added.
Arenas inclined with Shannon’s viewpoint on this occasion, as he claimed, “He was the American dream”. “We have the guy start off as a hero, gets dropped down from that hero stature, and then build himself back to that hero stature. That’s what Kobe did,” he highlighted. The 3x All-Star stated, “No other star did that,” to put the limelight on the uniqueness of the shooting guard’s journey.
Gilbert put forward how this series of ups and downs throughout Kobe’s career while staying with the Lakers made him a fan favorite. The 41-year-old even took it a step further to call the 18x All-Star the greatest-ever legend of the organization. “That’s why Lakers fans would never say Kobe is not the greatest Laker ever,” the former NBA star mentioned.
Nobody will ever mean more to the Lakers than Kobe did @ShannonSharpe @GilsArenaShow pic.twitter.com/K3uwnuplCT
— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) December 21, 2023
How LeBron James steadied the ship after the departure of Kobe Bryant
The Lakers visibly struggled to maintain their status as a fierce competitor since around the mid-2010s. The situation only worsened since the retirement of Kobe back in 2016. The franchise needed a senior figure in the locker room to assist them with their rebuilding phase. That’s precisely when they stunned the league by bringing LeBron to the West.
Since then, the Lakers have had their fair share of struggles and joy under James. The team won a championship in 2020 with the 38-year-old claiming the Finals MVP. After a short-lasting slump in their performance, they tasted glory recently by becoming the winners of the in-season tournament. Yet again, the 19x All-Star stole the limelight as he was named the MVP of the tournament.
Despite all his heroics for the franchise, the 4x MVP previously agreed with the viewpoint of Shannon and Arenas. Highlighting Kobe’s influence on the city and its people, LeBron stated, “Grew up watching and admiring him”. “It’s just all surreal for me,” he mentioned Bryant watched him play in a Lakers uniform.
Thus, the widespread love for the Black Mamba remains to this day. With the influential figures publicly admiring his impact on the game, it is bound to stay that way for a long time.
