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Over the weekend, retired professional basketball player Kobe Bryant answered a series of questions about the current state of the Lakers, with whom he played for 20 years, and the talents on the team.
He was being interviewed by Chris McGee on Spectrum SportsNet's "Connected With".
The name of rookie Lonzo Ball naturally came up and Kobe stated that the 20-year-old, who has been the talk of the town despite playing in the NBA for only a couple of months, needs to have the mentality to win.
"He needs to get better now," he said, mentioning names of other young players, like Kyle Kuzma and Julius Randle, and noting that time matters and that it's with a "patient impatience" that basketball players develop.
Screenshot of Kobe Byrant's Twitter post.
He went on to say that as a newbie "we really thought, 'This is our year. We’re gonna get this done. We’re gonna push, push, push, push, push, get better now'."
"These young players will grow, and then everybody will look up and marvel at the amount of talent that we have."
However, Bryant's words were taken out of context and twisted when ESPN posted a graphic on its Twitter account.
"He needs to get better now. … If you’re just patiently going about it, you’ll never get there," ESPN quoted Bryant as saying, giving the illusion the veteran player was criticizing Ball.
But Bryant's comments were never meant as a condemnation of Ball and his young teammates. It was obviously an advice, and an attempt to share the mindset he took on as a rookie on a loaded Lakers team that wasn’t ready to compete in championships.
Screenshot of Kobe Byrant's Twitter post.
Bryant took to Twitter on Saturday to repeat that his words were coming from a place of support for the young members of the Lakers.
His full quote was pretty clear he was talking about the mentality it takes to get better, and did not single Ball out.
The Lakers icon voiced his displeasure with how ESPN "framed" his comments on Twitter on Sunday night.
(CGTN)
