Kobe on media criticism: 'I would never whine'
PHILADELPHIA — While Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant believes the media has covered Kobe Bryant unfairly, Bryant disagrees.
“Listen, I don’t budge on that stuff,” Bryant said Tuesday after his Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 103-91 at the Wells Fargo Center. “I appreciate the good stuff, I appreciate the bad stuff. I would never whine, ‘Oh, you’re being too hard on me, please stop.’ That wouldn’t even sound like me.
Bryant added, “I sincerely appreciate the bad as much as I do the good, and hopefully the players coming up now understand that — understand that it’s a journey, it’s a cycle, you can’t take things personal. You’ve got to roll with it. It’s all good.”
The 37-year-old Bryant is struggling mightily in his 20th season, which he recently announced will be his last in the NBA. He’s shooting a career-worst (and team-worst) 30.1 percent from the field and averaging 15.8 points on a team-high 17.6 field goal attempts per game.
His latest effort against the 76ers was awful, as Bryant shot 7-of-26 from the field, including 4-of-17 from 3-point range. The 17 attempts from beyond the arc were one shy of his career high.
Durant told reporters Monday that he “idolized” Bryant and was upset by how the media has covered the longtime Lakers star this season.
“I did idolize Kobe Bryant. I studied him, wanted to be like him,” Durant said. “He was our Michael Jordan.
“I’ve been disappointed this year because you guys [the media] treated him like s—. He’s a legend, and all I hear is about how bad he’s playing, how bad he’s shooting and it’s time for him to hang it up. You guys treated one of our legends like s—, and I didn’t really like it. So hopefully now you can start being nice to him now that he decided to retire after this year.”
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