Kobe texts Draymond after Game 4 loss

Kobe Bryant told Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors a few months back to make history, not to fall short of the championship after winning 73 games.

So after the Warriors plummeted into a 3-1 deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, the Black Mamba emerged from the basketball afterlife to remind Green of his team's quest.

"If making history was easy, why bother?" the text read, as Green revealed in his Uninterrupted video message following Game 4.

And to the defensive stalwart's credit, Green took responsibility for the loss and agreed wholeheartedly with Bryant's assessment.

"That's 100 percent right. It ain't easy. It's a struggle, and I gotta make sure it builds character. And so, I'm looking forward to the challenge, I've never backed down from a challenge, and this team has never backed down from a challenge, and we won't start now," Green said.

Back in March, when the Warriors were on the trail to 73 wins, Bryant credited Green for being able to motivate his team.

"He's the one that's going to have to create that conflict and create that tension within in the locker room," Bryant said. "If they don't have that, man, in the playoffs they'll be in trouble. He's got to create that conflict with them."

Bryant would reiterate that point two weeks ago when he sung Green's praises following a dominant showing in the first two rounds of the playoffs when Stephen Curry was absent.

"Draymond is a rare breed in this day and age," Bryant told the San Francisco Chronicle's Scott Osler. "He's a competitor, and he's not afraid to show he's a competitor. He's not afraid to address certain issues with teammates and with (opponents) that may seem uncomfortable. He's a challenger."

Green, however, has come apart over the past week. Perhaps owing to his repeated controversies, Green has played like a shell of himself in Games 3 and 4, where he was a combined minus-73 in 70 minutes.