Nearly 25 years ago, Kobe Bryant helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the first title in their eventual “three-peat.”
Bryant’s rise as a superstar in the NBA happened quickly and, along with Shaquille O’Neal, formed arguably the greatest one-two punch in the league’s history as well as the history of the Lakers franchise.
Bryant’s legend will be explored in CNN’s upcoming original series and will likely cover how he began to spread his wings despite O’Neal’s presence on the Lakers roster.
In an appearance on Podcast P with Paul George, Derek Fisher revealed he believes Bryant started feeling like he was sacrificing too much following the Lakers’ first title in 2000, as transcribed by Tristen Flores of Basketball Forever:
“We won the first title in 2000, and so I think that second year…in 2000, 2001, that’s when it really shifted a little bit to I think Kob really felt like he was bein’ asked to sacrifice a little too much in terms of what — again, you have to remember, Kob really saw himself and ultimately became one of the G.