The late Kobe Bryant's mentality and demeanor set him apart from his competition throughout his NBA career. Those used to be, and remain, some of the most appreciated traits about him. However, the newer generation of fans, unaware of how he conducted himself, doesn't seem to approve of those leadership methods.
That became clear after Bryant's infamous 2014 trash talk against ex-Lakers teammate Jeremy Lin went viral on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday. A handle named "LegendZ" shared the clip in which Bryant seemingly gets under Lin's skin while guarding him one-on-one.
"You ain't got s**t on me. Go ahead and shoot," Bryant said. "Motherf**ker can't even get ready to shoot," Bryant continued after Lin missed the shot.
The Lakers great continued his jabs and hit Lin with one of his most well-known trash-talk phrases after he turned the ball over.
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"Motherf**ker soft like charmin' out there," Bryant said.
Most fans who had seen this clip before or learned about the incident when it was fresh usually laud Kobe Bryant's toughness, crediting his behavior in practice to his competitiveness and will to win. However, the fans who recently learned about this didn't appreciate how Bryant treated Jeremy Lin and other teammates.
One fan compared it to Michael Jordan's harsh treatment of his teammates, saying:
"That ni**a seem more annoying with every clip, like even Jordan wasn’t this obnoxious."
"I don’t Like this version of Kobe Bryant," wrote another.
"I won’t take any JLin slander on this app," one Jeremy Lin fan wrote.
One user felt bad for Kwame Brown, who was teammates with Bryant and Jordan and is widely known as one of the worst No. 1 picks ever.
"Ngl this makes me feel bad for Kwame Brown."
"This kinda behavior helps nobody man," another wrote.
Exploring why Kobe Bryant vented his frustrations on Lakers in 2014 viral video?
Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were no longer at the NBA's summit at that point of the five-time champion's career. The frustrations had boiled over for Bryant, especially with a mediocre roster around him. With a 6-16 start to the 2014-15 season, he called out the Lakers organization for its roster building and the players for not committing enough in practice during this incident.
"I'm supposed to practice and get better Mitch (Kupchak)," Bryant told then Lakers GM after the practice.
LA finished with a 21-61 record that year, registering a 60-loss season for the first time. The Lakers didn't do much to improve the roster, choosing to rebuild. Bryant, then 36, suffered a rotator cuff tear in his right shoulder, ending his season in January. He was past his best, injury-prone and aging, leaving the team with no choice but to invest in their draft stock and build internally.
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