Kobe Bryant was known as a serious competitor on and off the court.
Russell Westbrook
| MIN: | 34.57 |
| PTS: | 18.28 (49.37%) |
| REB: | 7.77 |
| As: | 7.54 |
| ST: | 1.02 |
| BL: | 0.26 |
| TO: | 4.04 |
| GM: | 57 |
The five-time NBA champion would do whatever needed to get a required result. His "Mamba mentality" led to constant mind games with opponents.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski revealed what Kobe said to Russell Westbrook at the 2012 Olympics.
Kobe Bryant tried to get into Westbrook's head, attempting to send him back to Oklahoma City to create friction with Kevin Durant.
This was a few months after Russ' OKC eliminated the Lakers in the playoffs. The Purple & Gold lost a Western Conference semi-finals series 1-4. That season marked the final career playoff appearances of Kobe Bryant.
"Kobe used Team USA to play mind games... Kobe would tell Westbrook, 'Why do you keep letting KD win the scoring title? You should be winning the scoring title,'" Wojnarowski uncovered in the Woj Pod.
Kevin Durant won the NBA scoring race three years straight at that period (2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12), averaging 30.1, 27.7, and 28.0 points respectively.
Russell Westbrook took over the flag from KD in the 2014-15 season, posting 28.1 points per game.
Westbrook and Durant's paths differed in 2016, when Durant left Oklahoma City for the Golden State Warriors.
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