“Don’t Worry About Him”: Former Teammate Recalls How Kobe Bryant Took On A Fiery Opponent

The death of Kobe Bryant left a huge void in the hearts of countless people. Bryant’s fighting mentality on the court and his calm personality off it had captured the heart of millions. 

Bryant’s association with the Los Angeles Lakers lasted for 20 years, where he competed alongside various players in his career.

Lou Williams is one such man who played with the Lakers for two years. Williams, now 33 years old, connected with ESPN’s Ros Gold-Onwude for a chat about his career and similar topics. 

Lou Williams reminisced about a match that substantially increased his respect towards Kobe. It was December 23, 2015, and the Lakers were up against the Denver Nuggets.

When Kobe Bryant guarded Will Barton with all his might

“We were in Denver and Will Barton was going crazy. I think Will probably had about 25 before half-time,” Williams recalled.

Williams mentioned how head-coach Byron Scott came in at half-time and devised a new plan to contain Barton.

During the coach’s talk he recalled Kobe saying, “I’m gonna guard him in the second half. Don’t worry about it.”  

The entire team turned their heads toward Bryant. As the coach was about to resume his talk, Bryant cut him yet again and reassured him. “No, like don’t worry about him. I’ll take care of it.”

Now, Bryant seemed unstoppable. His teammates knew they should let him do what he says. 

But Williams and a few other teammates mistakenly thought it would be a hard task for the NBA veteran to guard a raging Barton who had already got about 25 points in the first half.

To their utter disbelief, Bryant was right behind Barton the entire second half and made his life a hard one. The Nuggets player managed to score only two points in the second half. 

“When he put his mind into something he meant, he was going to get it done one way or the other,” Williams exclaimed, speaking about Bryant’s mentality.

Moreover, the Lakers clinched the tie 111-107 and Bryant emerged as the top scorer in the match, with 31 points.