Kobe Bryant on 2008-09 Lakers: 'Most fun I've ever had playing on a team'
Earlier this season, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant was asked to name his favorite championship.
Like naming a favorite child, most players take the politically correct answer and say, "Each one is special," or "I love them the same."
“I think the standard answer should be, ‘No. They’re all the same.’ But that’s just not true,” Bryant told TNT’s Ernie Johnson in a video interview this week. “When we beat Boston in 2010, for me, that’s number one with a bullet.”
But Bryant, who has been far more open with the media over the past few seasons, didn't hesitate with: His 2009-10 championship was the most special (via Sports Illustrated):
That makes sense for a couple reasons.
The win gave Bryant the revenge over the Boston Celtics -- who defeated Bryant's Lakers in the 2008 Finals -- he so desperately craved. More importantly, it gave him five rings -- one more than Shaquille O'Neal, Bryant's former teammate and chief adversary after O'Neal was traded in 2004 (the two have since reportedly made up).
As Bryant continues to reflect on his career and enjoy his farewell tour in his 20th and final season, it seems as if he's beginning to compartmentalize certain aspects of his career -- most notably the meaning behind each of his championships.
Following the Lakers' 121-103 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, Bryant revealed his thoughts on another one of his titles, saying that the 2008-09 championship team, not the 2009-10 squad, was the most fun to play on:
Again, this answer makes sense.
The Lakers had lost to the Celtics in the previous season, and the pain of such an embarrassing defeat -- the Lakers lost the decisive Game 6 by 39 points in Boston -- bonded and motivated the 2009 Lakers to avenge that loss and defeat the Orlando Magic, 4-1, in the Finals (and then the Celtics in seven games the season after).
On a personal level, it marked Bryant's first championship without O'Neal -- it took him three years longer than O'Neal, who won in 2006 -- and also marked his first Finals MVP award. For such a competitive player with a palpable disdain for O'Neal -- at least at that time -- that must've been quite fun.
The only notable roster difference between the 2009 and 2010 championship rosters was that Ron Artest (now Metta World Peace) replaced Trevor Ariza. Besides that, the groups were basically the same -- it's just that Bryant's first title "on his own" brought him a different level of joy than the others.
With his final season past the midway point now, expect more revelations from Bryant in the coming weeks. We can't wait.
Jovan Buha covers the NBA for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @jovanbuha.
