Kobe Bryant has won five titles and is known for being a no nonsense competitor.
Well, Bryant went on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday night, and the late night talk show host could not resist showing one of the most competitive players in the history of sports a clip of his teammates celebrating a regular season victory like it was game seven of the NBA Finals.
The LA Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in overtime on Sunday night, and Jeremy Lin attempted to do a post game interview with Time Warner Cable sideline reporter Mike Trudel. After winning for the first time in eight games, teammates Nick Young, Jordan Hill and Carlos Boozer interrupted the interview to comedic effect.
"You want to win," Bryant told Kimmel when asked if he preferred the team to struggle or succeed without the future Hall-of-Fame inductee available to play. "It's hard to be in the environment when we're literally at the bottom of the league."
Then, Kimmel said, "I must know what your reaction to this is," as he showed Bryant the clip of Young, Hill, Boozer and Lin celebrating only their 14th win of the 2014/15 season on the court. The over-the-top joy on display gave the audience laughs.
The five-time NBA champion fell silent, as Kimmel asked, "Would that happen if you were there?"
Bryant could not bring himself to comment on the celebration, but his face said it all:
In positive news, during his time on the late night show, Bryant revealed that his sling came off about 45 minutes before the taping. Bryant hopes to be back for training camp and is expected to play one more season. Once he's back, the Lakers probably will not be celebrating snapping seven-game losing streaks by shouting "We back in the building" into the microphone.
