Jeremy Lin shared details about a tense moment with Kobe Bryant during their time with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2014-15 season. After a late-game disagreement and a direct text exchange, Bryant stopped speaking to Lin for five months. The two later cleared the air, with Lin explaining how the situation unfolded behind the scenes.
Jeremy Lin opened up about a tense moment with Kobe Bryant from their time with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2014-15 NBA season.
Jeremy Lin
Jeremy Lin
Position: PG
Age: 37
Height: 191 cm
Weight: 91 kg
Birth place: California, United States of America
Speaking on Dwight Howard's Above the Rim podcast, Lin described a late-game situation that created friction between him and the Lakers star. Bryant wanted him to foul to stop the clock, while head coach Byron Scott told him not to. The mixed message led to hesitation on the floor. After noticing Bryant's body language, Lin reached out.
"I texted him, 'Hey man, I don't appreciate the body language,' Lin recounted to Howard. "And he came back with a sharp response, and I came back at him."
"It ended cordial, where I ended up saying, 'I'm not saying you can't teach me. You're obviously a hundred times the player that I am. I want to learn anything and everything I can from you. I'm just asking if, could you just say and do it in a way that's respectful to me as a man.'"
Lin said Bryant first responded well and gave him feedback, but then stopped talking to him "for the next five months."
The two later cleared the air, with Bryant admitting he was not used to being challenged that way.
Lin went on to win an NBA title in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors and remains widely known for his Linsanity run with the New York Knicks.
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