Kobe Bryant stopped by “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Thursday night in the midst of a complicated offseason where the Lakers are looking for a new coach. He talked about having input on that process, exchanging some light-hearted smack with Michael Jordan — as embellished a tad by Phil Jackson during his promotional and his thoughts concerning Donald Sterling when Mamba debated signing with the Clippers in 2004.
Here’s Kobe on Phil and his back-and-forth with MJ, including MJ’s assertion that Kobe would have never dropped 81 on him if he’d been in the league:
And his encounter with Sterling when he was debating signing with the Lakers’ crosstown rivals as a free agent in 2004:
As for whether the Lakers will consult with him on their next head coaching hire, Kobe informed Jimmy, “On the last two they didn’t. On the third one, I hope they do.”
This anecdote about helping his daughter get over a tough softball loss by showing her footage from when the Lakers lost the NBA Finals in 2008 to the
Celtics, he’s shared with Kimmel before, but it’s worth hearing again:
Will the Lakers consult with Kobe before hiring their next coach?
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