"He knew he was the man"- Ex-Lakers champ reveals Kobe Bryant's killer psyche as he reminisces his antics on Redemption team

Kobe Bryant's former teammate John Salley recalled how the LA Lakers legend was obsessed with proving doubters wrong and dominating everything he did. On Saturday, Salley sat down with iconic radio host Big Boy to discuss several topics.

At some point, the conversation switched to Bryant, with Salley recalling how Kobe handled himself when he wanted to achieve something.

"He was the most intense person all the time. I asked him, 'Why do you do it?' He said, 'I do everything young.' I said, 'What?' He goes, 'Yeah I do everything young, I came into the lead young, got married young, I'mma retire young.' He said, 'I do everything young.' Like he was the best, man."

After Big Boy said that mindset made Kobe scary, Salley agreed.

"He was scary to the point where he knew every single piece of the game. You know when they show that dream team when he's on the team? The Redemption Team? You see how they revered him and how people were afraid of him? He knew he was the man."

"When everybody thought he wasn't. He was like, 'Y'all don't see that I'm as good as Michael (Jordan)? People didn't see it. It took to his death for the people to come back and be like he really was him," Salley said. (31:02 mark)

Kobe Bryant showed his impact during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games hosted in Beijing. The shooting guard came off from losing the NBA Finals that year and went to the Olympics with a chip on his shoulder.

He set the tone for Team USA after it failed to win the gold medal in 2004 and was eliminated from the 2006 FIBA World Cup in the semifinal. Bryant led that squad to the gold medal, adding another milestone to his impressive resume. Four years later, he would do the same in London.

Luka Doncic reacts to his LA mural with Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant is still remembered in Los Angeles and around the world with murals. After Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers, the Slovenian guard, who shared some moments with Bryant before his tragic death in 2020, shared his thoughts on being celebrated like the five-time NBA champion.

Doncic said it was "unbelievable" to receive that type of love, especially since he had just joined the team. Lakers fans have high expectations for Doncic and if he can take the team back to the promised land, more murals will show up in the city.