“He actually cried…” Shocking detail from Kobe Bryant training outburst toward Lakers played revealed by teammate
Former Laker Nick Young recalled the infamous 'soft as charmin' rant by Kobe Bryant and revealed that it was targeted at Jeremy Lin.
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Nick Young reveals details of infamous Kobe Bryant rant
It’s been 10 years since Kobe Bryant’s infamous rant against his Los Angeles Lakers teammates during the 2014-15 season, a moment that continues to live on in NBA locker rooms. Bryant, the biggest propagator of no-nonsense leadership, was furious with the team’s poor performance early in the season.
Former Lakers teammate Nick Young recalled the aftermath of Bryant’s fiery outburst. In a recent interview on Gil’s Arena, Young described how Kobe Bryant took it upon himself to address the ‘lack of effort’, delivering a now-infamous verbal tirade during a practice session in December 2014.
After a dismal 6-16 start Bryant was furious with the team. His rant, which included the memorable “soft as Charmin” line, was directed at his teammates, especially point guard Jeremy Lin.
It was mostly aimed at Jeremy Lin, to tell you the truth. People don’t know Jeremy Lin actually cried in the locker room that day… He was the reason he lost, to tell you the truth. I’m still mad at Jeremy Lin that day.
Nick Young said
Nick Young remembers the infamous Kobe “Soft Like Charmin” practice ? pic.twitter.com/0wQjTxYaOb
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) December 11, 2024
Bryant’s harsh words clearly hit Lin hard. For a player who had fought his way back into the NBA after the ‘Linsanity’ craze, the emotional pressure of Bryant’s criticism seemed to have taken a toll. His infamous leadership style, though tough and unrelenting, was always grounded in his desire to see his teammates succeed.
Lin, who had been a consistent part of the Lakers lineup, was visibly shaken by the trash-talk from Bryant and would end up breaking down in the locker room as per Nick Young. As for Young himself, he ascertained that he did not take the trash-talk from Bryant well and proceeded to talk back to the 18x All-star, calling him ‘one-legged’ following his Achilles surgery.
Kobe Bryant once confiscated team’s sneakers
As an ultra-competitive player, Kobe Bryant held his teammates to high standards on the court. This became evident during the 2015-16 season when Bryant’s final year in the NBA was also one of the worst in Lakers’ history.
As the Lakers struggled to find their footing, Bryant’s frustrations boiled over, leading to the infamous ‘banned Kobe’s’ incident. During a practice, Bryant’s displeasure with the younger players reached a breaking point, prompting him to take drastic action.
Former Lakers teammate Lou Williams recounted the incident a few years ago. He described how Bryant ordered the team’s equipment manager to confiscate all of his signature sneakers from his teammates’ lockers.
We came in the next day for practice… Carlos came in, cool as ever, and he just started racking Kobe’s out of the fuII lockers. So me and Nick Young sitting like: ‘What you doing?’ ‘Kobe said he doesn’t want y’all wearing his shoes, y’all fu* soft.’
Lou Williams recalled
The move was a clear message from Bryant: if his teammates didn’t meet his standards, they wouldn’t even be allowed to wear his shoes. While many of his teammates wore his signature line of shoes, Williams and Young, who wore different brands, were spared from the confiscation.
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Armaan Gupta
(369 Articles Published)