When Kobe Bryant was a free agent in 2004, Isiah Thomas and the Knicks flew to Southern California armed with their mid-level exception. Despite being nearly $100 million short of what the Lakers offered, Bryant listened to their offer.
“The reason why I even was interested in taking that meeting was because of this city,†the 28-year-old Bryant said in an interview Tuesday morning. “Because I always loved this city. Always. Ever since I came here, growing up in Philadelphia, there’s always so much energy and so much buzz in this city. How passionate they are about basketball, how knowledgeable they are about basketball.â€
Bryant, a nine-time All-Star, excitedly ticked off the names of the Knicks legends Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Earl Monroe and Dave DeBusschere and said, “I just wanted to play here so bad.â€
“I know what it’s like to have a team here that’s successful and how the city rallies around it,†he said. “So I was very interested. And if they had more cap flexibility, it’d definitely be a place where I would end up. I might have picked the Knicks.â€
thank you for giving us this accurate information about kobe bryant and the lakers.it made me look at kobe bryant as a humble man not only interested by money and this made me want to support him even more.
after reading this article my idea of New York changed too. i thought of new york city as a place where people were only interested in business and money.