After growing up in Los Angeles admiring Kobe Bryant’s every move, Lakers forward Nick Young soon experienced the difficult parts of playing with his childhood idol.
The two competed for shots. Bryant became annoyed with Young’s goofy side to his personality. And after capping his 20-year NBA career with a 60-point performance in the Lakers’ season finale of the 2015-16 season, Bryant threw Young’s Adidas shoes in the trash as a way to express his loyalty to Nike.
“He’s a hater; he’s a hater,” Young joked in an interview for go90 with Russian talk show host Nikolai Popov. “He took a lot of my shine.”
Young addresses other not-so-serious topics in the full episode. Young shares a not-so-believable story regarding his “Swaggy P” nickname. He raves about rapper Kendrick Lamar, who is Young’s cousin. And Young visits a Russian spa in what could partly account for his productive season thus far.
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