The Lakers are in New York for a Sunday afternoon game against the Knicks. Though Kobe Bryant is still out with a knee injury he was on hand to answer several questions but of course most were about the other big man in the building, Carmelo Anthony.
Kobe Bryant’s name was solidified in Madison Square Garden history thanks to the 61 points he dropped in the building. Those were the most points scored by any player in MSG until Friday night. In a game against the Charlotte Bobcats Carmelo Anthony went off dropping 62 points and capturing the record away from Bryant. Ironically the Knicks next game was against Kobe’s team so with the Black Mamba in the building it was inevitable he was asked about the feat.
“I got a lot of messages from people saying, ‘Melo is going after your record tonight,’” Bryant said. “It’s amazing. He just went to work. He got hot and didn’t cool off. I called him that same night just to congratulate him.”
“I thought if I was a competitor I would say that Melo has more opportunities to set the Garden record than I did but I’m not a competitor so I won’t say that,” Bryant joked.
Of course the other topic Bryant was asked about was Carmelo Anthony’s upcoming free agency. The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the teams that can offer Anthony a max contract and many people think it’ll be his first choice outside of New York. The pairing of Bryant and Anthony is an intriguing one. Bryant joked about the weather but is not one of those that’s sure Anthony will high tail it out of New York.
“Everybody wants to play in Los Angeles,” Bryant said with a chuckle. “I mean, New York’s a beautiful place, but don’t get me wrong, it’s colder than sh*t out here. Palm trees and beaches, obviously, are a little more appealing. But all jokes aside, I think that players, when that time comes, will have to make the best decision for them and their families. If he wants to call me for advice, later, as a friend, I’ll be more than happy to give it to him.”
Though the Knicks can offer Anthony an extra year and the most money ($129 million), one of the issues remaining there is winning. The Knicks had one of their best year’s last season falling just short of an Eastern Conference Finals, this year they have fallen off substantially. As the leader of the team majority of that falls on Anthony. Carmelo is often criticized for being a scorer and not a good enough leader or all around player. Kobe gave his thoughts on how Carmelo can shake the critics.
“The only way to do that is to win,” Bryant said when asked how Anthony could shake his reputation of merely being a scorer, and not necessarily a good all-around basketball player. “I won five championships and there are some of you that still say that, so you kinda just take it and roll with it. The most important thing is to win a championship and that’s the only way to shake it the way Michael [Jordan] shook it. That’s the only way any player can shake it.”
– Shaina Auxilly (@Shay_Marie)
