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[Saba Sports News] Kobe Bryant is celebrated as one of the greatest NBA players of all time, but he’s not exactly known for being a kind teammate. A recently resurfaced video on X shows Bryant brutally trash-talking Jeremy Lin during a 2014 Lakers practice.
“He don’t want it… This motherf***** don’t got st,” Bryant taunted. “You ain’t got st on me. Go ahead, shoot. Motherf***** can’t even get ready to shoot. F***** didn’t even want to shoot that s***. Talked his a** right into that bull****. F***** don’t want no problems with me. Practice gets real uncomfortable when I’m out this motherf*****.”
The tension escalated when Lin turned the ball over, prompting more harsh words from Bryant: “That motherf***** is sleeping out here. Motherf***** soft like Charmin, out this motherf*****… God damn, is this the type of s*** that goes on when I’m not in practice? God damn, now I see why we lost god damn 24 games. F***** soft like Charmin.”
While Lin took the brunt of Bryant’s frustration, other teammates weren’t spared either. At this stage in his career, Bryant rarely practiced with the team to preserve his body, and he was clearly unimpressed with what he saw during this session in December 2014.
Bryant demanded perfection, but mediocrity surrounded him in his final years with the Lakers, leading to visible frustration. By the end of that month, the Lakers had a dismal 10-22 record, which only worsened as they finished the 2014-15 season with a 21-61 record, the worst in franchise history at the time.
Despite the team’s struggles, Bryant averaged 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game in 2014-15, though injuries limited him to just 35 games. It was clear that his career was nearing its end, and he retired just a year later in 2016.