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Kobe Bryant’s Ex-teammate, Who Admitted to Being a “Michael Jordan Guy”, Once Wore a Knicks Jersey While Being Drafted by the Bulls

Published 07/24/2022, 11:30 AM EDT

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Kobe Bean Bryant is one of the greatest players ever to have played the game of basketball. The Los Angeles Lakers legend was the face of the franchise for the entirety of his twenty years career in LA. He was an offensive force who could score the basketball from anywhere. Kobe won 5 NBA championships with the Lakers in two different spans. His first three NBA championships came with Shaq in the early 2000s.

They are still the last team to three-peat in this century in the NBA. His next two NBA Championships came towards the end of the decade with an entirely new support system.

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One of the most important pieces of that run was Metta Sandiford-Artest, who came to the Lakers in 2009 when they were looking to repeat. He was one of the league’s premier defenders. During a recent interview, Artest talked about his love for MJ, getting drafted by the Bulls, and wearing a Knicks jersey on draft day.

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He said, ” It was cool man again my favorite player…..I don’t know who was your favorite player you know like I am a Jordan guy……..you know I am born in 1979…MJ is like you know what I mean and to get drafted by my favorite team was insane.

He also said, “I don’t know how that felt to anybody else.. but I did wanna go to the Knicks number 15…so that day I had a Knicks jersey under my suit So when I was gonna get drafted I was gonna rip my suit.. but that didn’t happen because that was my fault.”

2010 NBA Finals and final championship for Kobe Bryant

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The 2010 NBA Finals was a rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals. It was also another chapter of the storied rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were looking for their second successive championship.

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The Boston Celtics were looking to win their second title in three years.

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The Finals went all the way to seven games. The Lakers ultimately pulled through because of important contributions from Kobe and Artest. Kobe for his efforts won the NBA Finals MVP. It was the fifth and final NBA championship for the late, great Kobe Bryant.

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Written by:

Nirjhar Sharma

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Nirjhar Sharma is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He is a sports enthusiast who follows all major sports and has been watching the NBA for the past 7 years now. A firm believer in the 'Greek Freak' being the best player in the league right now, he believes that the Bucks are primed for another championship run unless the injury bug bites them.
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Edited by:

Arunaditya Aima