Shortly after then-Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson agreed to a four-year extension with Golden State in the fall of 2014, he went off in a contest against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Thompson, who was still a spring chicken at that point in his career, dropped a whopping 41 points in the game and was remarkably accurate with his shot attempts, as he went 14-of-18 from the field and 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
Former Los Angeles Lakers forward Wesley Johnson played for the L.A. team that was on the receiving end of Thompson’s scoring outburst in that game. According to Johnson, he received a long-winded text message from then-teammate Kobe Bryant after the contest.
“We played against Golden State, and I think Klay just signed his deal,” Johnson said. “And Klay went crazy — wasn’t missing, and we lost the game. That was a rough two years when I was there, but lost that game. And he (Bryant) texts me a long text message saying that was his gift and his curse to take on everything by himself.
“So, you saying Mamba Mentality, it’s kinda fitting to hear and see and read that text, him sending me, telling like, ‘I can just basically take on everybody by myself if I have to.’ So, me reading that as my first year with the Lakers and seeing that, it was like, ‘Oh, okay. I see this side of him. I see, nah, this is not the workout Kobe, this is the killer Kobe in the game.’
“And that lightbulb switched for me like, ‘Okay, now I see why a lot of teammates, a lot of peers really have a tough time playing alongside of him ’cause he has a high standard and a high passion for this game.'”
It’s worth noting that the game in question actually came right at the beginning of Johnson’s second season with the Lakers. In his first season with the team, he barely got to play with Bryant because the Lakers icon was dealing with injury woes.
Johnson was a pretty solid 3-and-D player during his two-season stint in a Lakers uniform. Across 155 total regular-season games played with the storied franchise, he averaged 9.5 points while shooting 36.0 percent from deep on 3.4 attempts per game from long range. In addition, he pulled down 4.3 rebounds per contest during his time as a Laker.
There’s a real argument that Johnson enjoyed the best individual seasons of his pro career with the Lakers, as he posted career-highs in points, rebounds and blocks per game while with the team.
He tried to make the most of his tenure during an era of Lakers basketball that was clouded by losing. The Lakers won 48 games across Johnson’s two seasons in Los Angeles combined, including a mere 21 in his swan song with the team, the 2014-15 season.
Johnson joined the Lakers’ in-town rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers, after he played out his time with the iconic organization, and he last suited up in the NBA with the Washington Wizards back in the 2018-19 season.
Folks can add Johnson’s story to the treasure trove of memorable stories involving Bryant that have been told in recent years. Johnson is fortunate to have played alongside Bryant, even if it was for a limited period of time.