To remember Kobe Bryant’s life five years after his heartbreaking passing, I spoke with Larry Nance Jr., who was a rookie during Bryant’s final NBA season.
Here are some excerpts from the latest episode of my podcast. To open our conversation, I joked with Larry about how he and Kobe “combined” to score 68 points in Kobe’s last game:
Larry: Look, the 60 was a nice appetizer, but my eight was the meal we all came for. You know, honestly, what a special night. Really. I mean, it was a really tough year. We had so many young guys there, we won 17 games. But the joy on people’s faces when they got to see Kobe in person for what they accomplished, that was the last time I will never forget. I’ve done some cool things in my career, I hope I can do cooler things, but I can’t imagine what could replace that 60 point game. As far as historic nights go, I can’t imagine what could take the place of that.
Kevin: What was the first thing on your mind when you were drafted by the Lakers and knew you would be a teammate of Kobe Bryant?
Larry: He was the only guy you just knew, “I can’t piss off this guy.” At that point, the older generation of players were kind of coming out, but like Kobe still had that mentality. KG was still in the league. There were certain guys you don’t play with. And so the first thing, the first thing, we were all like, okay, how do I get on this guy’s good side? How to stay? What should I do to stop this guy from just putting me in sight? And I discovered this quite easily. All he asked of us was all we had. That was it. And I can do that. Anyone can do it. No, he didn’t ask you to be a superstar. He didn’t ask you to make every shot. He just asked you for everything you have, I need everything. I need everything you have. 100%. And that’s how I got on the field my rookie year. It was like defense and playing harder than anyone else. And I feel like we bonded over the fact that every possession we both tried 100%.
Kevin: Was there ever an instance this season where you saw Kobe angry?
Larry: One of those games we were down immediately. We never had a sniff of luck, as it was over. He didn’t play, but he was with us on the trip. And I’ll never forget, like Byron Scott was talking to us in the locker room afterward and it was kind of like, “Hey, it’s the NBA. There are no easy nights like you guys are having an easy night right now. It’s us. We are the easy night. You must prepare for this.
Scott then turned to Kobe and asked what he had to say for the team.
Larry: I was ready for my lashes. Around this time I was signed with Adidas. But there were a few guys who were signed with Nike and wore Kobes. He said, “You, you, you, you, you,” and pointed at everyone with Kobes. “Take them off, put them in the trash, leave them here. You never wear them again. And it was a moment of like, “haha funny.” And then it became very, very, “he’s not kidding.” And so the guys who were wearing them took them off and put them in the trash. They were never to be worn again.
Kevin: Poor Nick Young, huh?
Larry: Speaking of Nick Young, before the last game and after that game, Kobe was, he was just incredible with us as teammates. Like he would sign, if you asked for something signed, he would just be, “sure, man, absolutely.” So there was a line of us after the game, we just had our stuff. We had our things. “Could you sign this for me? Can I have a photo? We’re all fans at the end of the day. After me, Nick Young, who famously signed with Adidas. And he would wear kobes, he would wear crazy 8s. And that was the only time Nick was like, “Hey man, can I get you to sign?” And handed him the crazy 8s and Kobe was like, “Dude, get them out of my sight” and put them in the trash himself. It was such a funny moment because he and Nick always had this banter back and forth. Nick also had a jersey, and Kobe signed that for him, but it was like a funny moment, it’s really your guys’ relationship, it’s a joke all the time.
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Kevin: The first game you played after he died had pictures of it, tears in your eyes, crying on the bench. What do you remember about this particular game, how difficult it was to play this game?
Larry: I am not an emotional person. I hate that it’s there.
Kevin: It’s good. It’s okay to be vulnerable and feel.
Larry: No, you’re right. I’m just not an emotional Screamer. When I found out, I didn’t cry, it was just a very solemn feeling I had. But it hit me during the national anthem. We had a moment of silence and it just ate at me. I hadn’t cried that much. It just happened. I can’t tell you what happened in the game. I don’t know if we won or lost. I don’t care. There was just something bigger going on. When we played the next home game, for the first half, I saw a few guys doing it, and I wore 24 for the first half. And I still have that jersey just because it meant something to me. I don’t even know how well I played. Never mind. It meant something to me. So it’s hanging up in my house.
Larry and I went deeper into our respective upbringings by watching Bryant. Like many NBA fans, we both had our phases of hating him before growing to love and admire him. Larry had a great story about this, among others that you can watch Or listen on the Kevin O’Connor show.