Lakers legend James Worthy says Kobe 'would've been perfect in the '80s'
Much has been made of the fact that Kobe Bryant is not the most communicative fellow in the league.
On Monday, Lakers legend James Worthy offered his two cents regarding a variety of Bryant-related topics, including the ongoing narrative that Kobe is not necessarily the most supportive teammate.
"I don’t know what happened to young players coming out of college and why they’re not used to being tough and picked on," Worthy said of Bryant's old-school personality on SiriusXM NBA Radio with Brian Geltzeiler and Stacey King, according to Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News. "Kobe would’ve been perfect in the '80s. Magic Johnson was the same way. Michael Cooper was the same way. We stayed in each other’s face. So I think you have to embrace that."
Bryant infamously chose not to reach out to new teammates Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams, and Brandon Bass earlier this month - a non-gesture that garnered much attention.
Despite this mild PR fiasco, Worthy feels Kobe has done an admirable job of mentoring young Lakers players in the past. "Every new kid that comes into town, (Kobe) takes them in and goes in and works out with them. You have to be tough in this league. Don’t expect to be talked to. It’s all for constructive criticism. I think it’s good for the locker room."
But what if Bryant talks trash to his young and inexperienced running mates? (WARNING: hide your children - language may be offensive)
To the above question, Worthy has a simple response:
"Shut Kobe up. Talk some trash to him and shut him up. That’s what you have to do. I think Kobe has learned to know which guys he can push, which guys don't respond to it. Some guys don’t respond to it. But we welcomed that in the locker room. That’s what created good cohesiveness and good chemistry. Sometimes I think the fact that Kobe gets on players has been a little overrated."
As the soon-to-be-37-year-old prepares for his 20th professional campaign, Bryant should expect to see a plethora of fresh faces at the Los Angeles Lakers practice facility prior to the 2015-16 season.
Time will tell how he responds to the influx of new teammates (Hibbert, Williams, and Bass) and the focus on his team's youthful talent (D'Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and Tarik Black).
If it means that Bryant will play the small forward or even power forward position in order to accommodate the Lakers' ever-changing roster, don't expect Mamba to back down from the challenge.
For the better part of two decades, Bryant has forged an iconic career as one of the most prolific shooting guards in league history. While his unparalleled impact on the floor will echo through the tales of generations of basketball fans, his reputation for being a happy-go-lucky teammate might be a tidbit often left out of such nostalgic storytelling.