Biographer Roland Lazenby Talks Kobe Bryant In Exclusive LSL Interview

Kobe’s career, for all intents and purposes, ended when he tore his Achilles in 2013. Let’s say that didn’t happen. How do you think his career would’ve ended? Could he have pulled a Paul Pierce, playing spot minutes off the bench, or is that not in his DNA?

I think it would depend on the management of the Lakers, how relevant they could’ve been and done to rebuild the team. Without the torn Achilles, it probably would’ve been somewhat easier for them to find help for Kobe. It’s not guaranteed, because his difficulties played a role in some of the Lakers’ troubles, obviously. It’s really hard to answer that, I can’t say.

In a lot of ways, I do think that Kobe, in any way he could be, would’ve wished to remain competitive. That’s how he saw his identity. But it’s so hard to know, because the Achilles injury did ruin things, I think in one sense his ability to fight back from not just the Achilles but also his other injuries is part of his legacy. And you know, in some ways, the issues in Colorado and those things had cost Kobe a lot of respect from some observers, some in the fan base. But his fight to continue competing probably helped him regain some of that respect with the basketball public. So in a lot of ways, it was probably very important that he played out the hand as well as he did.

And lastly, before we wrap up, there are several great voices in this book. Who was your favorite interview with regards to Kobe, and why?

Sonny Vaccaro had the ability to explain Kobe differently. I think the thing my book accomplished is it changes the narrative substantially for Kobe Bryant. He wasn’t just some little rich kid who got the benefit to play at a high level because his daddy played in the NBA and in Europe. The Bryant family was broke, their plan to get money was to have Kobe turn pro. So Kobe has been viewed as this very precocious guy, who was demanding to go to the Lakers, who had all of this arrogance, and certainly Kobe is guilty of any amount of arrogance. To be a great player, you have to have a great confidence.

But none of that was true about the 17-year-old Kobe. He signed his contract with Adidas, and turned to Sonny Vaccaro and said “Mr. Vaccaro, is there any way my parents can have this money and I could go to college?” It was only then that even Sonny Vaccaro realized how youthful and naive was Kobe Bryant. He was not the scheming figure that the public saw in him immediately. He was a guy who was extremely ambitious to be great, but the public was really turned off by Kobe turning pro right out of high school, and saw him as a bad customer.

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Find Roland on Twitter @Lazenby