Whether the fans loved him or hated him, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant always knew how to get a reaction out of people when playing on the road.
He was either booed by opposing fans or cheered by traveling Lakers fans, which was a credit to his greatness and the legacy he left behind. During his final season and farewell tour, all of those boos turned into cheers as everyone wanted to show their respect to Bryant one final time.
One player who has always shared a similar mentality as Bryant is Russell Westbrook, who formerly played for the Lakers and is now with the Denver Nuggets.
Westbrook is used to getting booed every time he goes to Denver as an opposing player but noted that he tries to matchup Bryant’s mentality and take it as a sign of respect, via ClutchPoints:
“I don’t know if it’s public enemy number one. I think, this is how I look at it. Over my course of my career, a lot of times I’ve been booed and all that stuff everywhere else, but I take it as a sign of respect, just like the late Kobe Bryant. When people boo you, they understand it’s a level of respect, and there’s a reason. If people don’t say anything, then you should be worried. And for me, I take it as a level of respect, and I’m grateful now to be a part of the loud and yelling and screaming, and my job is to make them scream louder and have fun and enjoy the game.”
While Westbrook is nearing the end of his career and isn’t the player he once was, he is still capable of bringing good energy for a team and that will be needed in Denver.
After losing Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in back-to-back offseasons, the Nuggets will be relying on Westbrook heavily in their backcourt either as a starter or off the bench.
It’s no secret that the Nuggets have had the Lakers’ number in recent years so it will be interesting to see how the addition of Westbrook changes that dynamic. If he plays well against the Lakers, in particular, then there’s no doubt those boos he’s used to hearing at Ball Arena will turn into cheers.
Dominique Wilkins: Kobe Bryant was closest player to Michael Jordan
The way Russell Westbrook wants to model his mentality after Kobe Bryant is the same as the Lakers legend wanted to do with Michael Jordan. And it appears to have worked as another legend in Dominique Wilkins recently said he feels Bryant was the closest thing to Jordan.
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