To remember Kobe Bryant’s life five years after his heartbreaking passing, I spoke with Larry Nance Jr., who was a rookie during Bryant’s final season in the NBA.
Below are some excerpts from the latest episode of my podcast. To open our conversation, I joked with Larry about how he and Kobe “combined” to score 68 points in Kobe’s last game:
Larry: Look, the 60 was a nice appetizer, but my eight was the meal we all came for. Honestly, what a special night. Really. I mean, it’s been a really tough year. We had so many kids there that we won 17 games. But the joy on people’s faces when they got to see Kobe in person for what they realized was the last time is something I will never forget. I’ve done some cool things in my career, I hope I can do more, but I can’t imagine what could replace that 60-point game. In terms of historic nights, I can’t imagine what could replace that.
Kevin: What was the first thing that came to mind when you were drafted by the Lakers and knew you would be a teammate of Kobe Bryant?
Larry: He was the only guy you knew and you were like, “I can’t piss off this guy.” At that point, the older generation of players were kind of on the verge of extinction, but Kobe still had that mentality. KG was still in the league. There were certain guys we didn’t mess with. And so the first thing, the first thing, we were all like, okay, how can I get on this guy’s good side? How do I stay? What should I do to keep this guy out of his sights? And I discovered that quite easily. All he asked of us was all we had. That was all. And I can do it. Anyone can do this. No, he didn’t ask you to be a superstar. He didn’t ask you to make every shot. He just asked you for everything you have, I need everything. I need everything you have. 100% of it. And that’s how I got on the field my first year. It was like defending and playing harder than anyone else. And I feel like we bonded over the fact that we both tried 100% on every possession.
Kevin: Has there ever been an instance this season where you’ve seen Kobe angry?
Larry: In one of those games we immediately lost 30 points. We never had a chance, like it was over. He didn’t play, but he was with us on the trip. And I’ll never forget Byron Scott talking to us in the locker room afterward and saying, “Hey, it’s the NBA. There are no easy nights like the ones you are having right now. It’s us. We are the easy night. You must prepare for this.
Scott then turned to Kobe and asked him what he had to say for the team.
Larry: I was ready for my whip. At that time I was signed to Adidas. But there were a few guys who signed with Nike and wore Kobes. He said, “You, you, you, you, you” and pointed at everyone with Kobes. “Take them off, put them in the trash, leave them here. You will never wear them again. And it was a “Haha funny” moment. And then it became very, very: “He’s not kidding.” And so the guys who wore them took them off and threw them in the trash. They were never to be worn again.
Kevin: Poor Nick Young, huh?
Larry: Speaking of Nick Young, before the last game and after this game, Kobe was, he was just incredible with us as teammates. Like if he signed, if you asked for something signed, he would just say, “Sure, man, absolutely.” So we were in line after the game, just we had our stuff. We had our things. “Could you sign this for me?” Can I have a photo? We’re all fans at the end of the day. After me, there was Nick Young, who signed with Adidas. And he would wear Kobes, he would wear Crazy 8s. And that was the only time Nick would say, “Hey man, can I get you to sign this?” And he handed him the Crazy 8s and Kobe said, “Dude, get them out of my sight” and put them in the trash himself. It was such a funny moment because he and Nick always had this joke. Nick also had a jersey and Kobe signed it for him, but it was just a fun moment like, it’s really the relationship between your guys, it’s a non-stop joke.
Kevin: The first game you played after his death, there was footage of you, with tears in your eyes, crying on the bench. What do you remember about this particular game, how difficult it was to play?
Larry: I am not an emotional person. I hate that it exists.
Kevin: It’s good. It’s okay to be vulnerable and have feelings.
Larry: No, you’re right. I’m just not an emotional cryer. When I found out, I didn’t cry, it was just a very solemn feeling that I felt. But it hit me during the national anthem. We had a moment of silence and it ate at me. I hadn’t cried that much. It just happened. I can’t tell you what happened in the game. I don’t know if we won or lost. I don’t care. There was just something bigger going on. When we played the next home game, in the first half, I saw a few guys do it, and I carried 24 of them in the first half. And I still wear that jersey just because it meant something to me. I don’t even know how well I played. It doesn’t matter. It meant something to me. So it hangs up for me.
Larry and I furthered our respective educations by watching Bryant. Like many NBA fans, we both went through phases of hating him before we started to love and admire him. Larry had a great story about this, among others that you can watch Or listen on the Kevin O’Connor Show.
