Pau Gasol Discarded Grizzlies Aura for Kobe Bryant With Only One Goal in Mind

Published 02/13/2024, 2:11 PM EST

The late, great Kobe Bryant is considered to be one of the best to ever do it. Such status, legacy, and reputation don’t come as a fluke, sacrifices need to be made. More importantly, in a team sport, your teammates need to see your vision and then dedicate themselves to the same goal.

This was the foundation of Kobe’s friendship with ex-teammate Pau Gasol and pretty much the whole Los Angeles Lakers roster when he was leading the pack.

Recently two of Kobe’s ex-teammates sat down for a conversation and talked about their brother at length. Pau was a guest on Lamar Odom’s podcast The LADE Show. Pau said, “For me, I was scoring more in Memphis but I understood…the media was like oh who’s gonna be the top scoring guy…I was like I’m not trying to be the top-scoring guy here. This guy[Kobe] is one of a kind you know. I’m just going to try to compliment him and the rest of the guys.” Although Pau was coming into the Lakers as someone who could score at will, the team dynamic in the Lakers camp was different because they had one of the greatest scorers of all time. So even though Pau had to check his ego at the door, he ended up creating history for the franchise alongside Kobe.

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The duo won back-to-back championships and more importantly, became really close friends. Other players on the Lakers roster had a very similar outlook on being the main man on the team. They all understood that this would be Kobe’s team and winning together is all that should matter.

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Lamar Odom details what it was like to play alongside Kobe Bryant

Lamar said, “I think when you join the Lakers and you’re on a team with Kobe Bryant…I think your ego should probably go out the window.” The NBA veteran said that because they were playing for the same goal, and they had a brilliant leader in Kobe who led by example, other players had no problem in falling in line for the team.

“If you want to be the leading scorer on the team and you know you’re about to join a team with Kobe Bryant, you should know you’re not going to be the leading scorer on the team”, he added.

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Written by:

Prateek Singh is a senior NBA writer for EssentiallySports, known for his insightful coverage of the league. With a deep passion for basketball fueled by the late Kobe Bryant's championship runs, Prateek has built his writing career on astute analysis and a firm understanding of the game. His area of expertise lies in breaking down trade reports and their implications for fans.

Edited by:

Caroline Joseph

Pau Gasol Discarded Grizzlies Aura for Kobe Bryant With Only One Goal in Mind

Lamar Odom details what it was like to play alongside Kobe Bryant

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