Kobe Bryant Wishes The New Generation of NBA Players Would Talk Trash With Him
By Seerat Sohi
If there’s one thing that’s certain in NBA circles, it’s that Kobe Bryant hates everyone, especially his opponents. He’s a Grade-A competitor. So much so that he wishes everyone else would have the same amount of vehement, no-regard-for-human-nature (yeah, I know that was Lebron’s dunk but just go along with it) attitude. Here’s what he had to say to Jackie MacMullan of ESPN Boston when he was asked about younger players:
"“They don’t seem to want to talk any trash. I say everything to LeBron. He says nothing back. He just laughs. There’s no banter back and forth. I guess it’s a generational thing. When I first came into the league, the trash talk was downright cutthroat.”"
For Kobe Bryant to call something cutthroat, it’s got to be pretty bad. Oh, to be a fly on the wall… Or to have access to face-off between Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson, either of those would be cool. Bryant also made one more thing clear:
"“I don’t talk trash often, but when I do, I go for the jugular.”"
Of course you do, Kobe. Of course you do. It’s the cloth that you’re cut from. Today’s younger guys are brought up together, which is unfortunate for Kobe’ entertainment value but when you consider how tantalizing the Miami Heat are, it probably results in a net-positive.
What made the NBA great back in the 1990’s is that guys like Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajowan and Isiah Thomas wouldn’t dare cross over to the dark side and join their rivals. What makes the league great in the present day is that today’s superstars have no problem doing the exact opposite.