Kobe Bryant won all five of his rings with the Lakers. Unlike LeBron and KD, both of whom had to change teams to win their first rings!
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The Lakers made the right choice in 1996 when they traded for Kobe Bryant with the Charlotte Hornets. The Black Mamba is easily one of the greatest to ever dawn the purple and gold.
During his time in Los Angeles, Kobe helped deliver five championships to the Lakers organization.
His first three championships saw him pair up with Shaq, pulling off a three-peat from 2000 to 2002. It would then take another seven years to win his next two titles, going back-to-back in 2009 and 2010.
Kobe Bryant had to beat some terrific teams on his way to five championship rings. pic.twitter.com/5OqCIhgJmv
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) May 11, 2022
Despite having a stagnant run from 2002 to 2009, Kobe still toughed it out in LA, unlike a few other superstars in today’s NBA.
LeBron James and Kevin Durant were once called out by Kobe Bryant for switching teams to win a championship
Two of the most decorated players in the NBA today are Kevin Durant and LeBron James. The two superstar forwards have won two and four championships respectively along with countless All Star and All-NBA nods.
However, both stars won their first rings away from the teams that originally drafted them. King James infamously left Cleveland for Miami in 2010, while KD switched OKC for Golden State in 2016 after just having blown a 3-1 lead to them in the Western Conference Finals.
Both moves were highly criticized by the media. Even Laker legend Kobe Bryant once admitted he wasn’t happy with their decisions.
Never forget Kobe’s jab toward LeBron and Kevin Durant 😭 pic.twitter.com/MJ4m8DrAwk
— HOOP SMART (@hoopsmart) June 26, 2022
Nevertheless, what’s done is done, and despite how much hate they received, the decisions of LeBron and KD propelled them to further success.
