Los Angeles Lakers: A response to Kobe Bryant’s recent comments

2. Kobe Bryant’s first Lakers team had a proven NBA superstar in Shaquille O’Neal, while this year’s team is hoping to sign one in free agency this summer

Kobe joining the Lakers in the summer of 1996 was not the biggest acquisition of the summer for the team. Shaquille O’Neal had finished his rookie contract with the Orlando Magic and was emerging as the most dominant big man in the NBA.

In Kobe’s interview, he refers to Shaq as still needing to grow up because he was still extremely young, but Shaq was an All-Star in each of his first four seasons, so he had already proven he could play at the NBA level. This year’s Lakers team likely won’t have any players in the All-Star Game this February in Los Angeles, which is one reason it isn’t fair to criticize this team by comparing it to Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers.

This doesn’t mean that some of the Lakers young players won’t blossom into All-Stars. Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball are just 20 years old, Kyle Kuzma is 22 and Julius Randle is 23. The Lakers are also fortunate to have salary cap flexibility to sign a superstar or two this upcoming summer, and some big names should be on the market.

It is difficult for young players to form a contender when they lack a true superstar to turn to late in games and other big situations. Bryant’s team had a player that had won Rookie of the Year and a scoring title before he even suited up for the Lakers, so this definitely helped young Kobe’s growing pains, which is something that this year’s team has not been able to avoid.