Jamael Lynch shared his thoughts on Kobe Bryant and how the LA Laker changed basketball.
In the second part of his interview with John Dabla of "Keeping It Real with John," NBA D-League's Jamael Lynch revealed how he admires Kobe Bryant and how he influenced him as well as other players to raise their games.
"I am a fan of Kobe Bryant. I've been a fan of his for a long time," Lync admitted. "People look at Kobe and see him as aggressive and cocky. It's not about that. I get why he is as good as he is and I respect him..."
Last November, Kobe Bryant announced his retirement via The Player's Tribune. "You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream and I'll always love you for it," he wrote.
"But I can't love you obsessively for much longer. This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding, my mind can handle the grind but my body knows it's time to say goodbye."
In the article, the Los Angeles Lakers Shooting Guard wrote about how he fell in love with basketball as a six-year-old boy and how he accepted every challenge for the sport he loved the most.
"I don't know anybody who does a 3-hour sleeping schedule based on their career for 20 years," Lynch said of Bryant. "It hurts to see him go because Kobe didn't just bring talent to the game, he brought competition."
"He brought edge and work ethic. He made people raise their games and that's what Steph Curry's doing, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook. With players like that, you got to raise your game. That's what I'm gonna miss most about him - his competitive nature."
It was previously reported that Jamael Lynch grew up in Brooklyn, New York. This led him to create his nonprofit organization, Big and Little Skills Academy, in 2011.
"The Big and Little Skills Academy is a holistic viewpoint on basketball," he said. "We want to build a person rather than just an athlete."
