When former Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert was acquired by the Los Angeles Lakers via sign-and-trade, he immediately gave LA a legitimate paint presence, something they’ve been lacking for years. The Lakers are still in a state of flux even with the looming return of purple and gold legend, Kobe Bryant. Bryant is the fiercest competitor the basketball world has seen since Michael Jordan. He expects excellence not only from himself but also his teammates. Sure, he can be rough on his counterparts, but it’s all for the betterment of the team. It seems like Hibbert is already aware of this in a recent interview with Baxter Holmes of ESPN:
Hibbert has already witnessed Bryant’s brashness first-hand. The center broke his nose while fouling Bryant in an early 2012 game. Not long after, Hibbert said on a podcast that he talked to Bryant “expecting a little sympathy, and I got none from Kobe.”
But Hibbert says he and Bryant have since cleared the air, and that he’s “excited” to play alongside him.
“Just being able to play with a great [and] being pushed by somebody that has done it and won five championships. I’m up for a challenge,” Hibbert says. “People tell me a lot of different things, how he’ll respect me, and I feel like if I go about my business, I can get it done.”
“So,” Hibbert says before taking a long pause, “it’ll be a challenge. But I’m up for it. I’m not going to speculate on other people and how they interacted with him and their relationships, but I feel like if I put my best foot forward in practices and in games, I don’t feel like there will be any tension. And I’m the type of person that will be like, ‘Hey, if I did something, let’s talk it out,’ as opposed to just going back and forth every day.”
It’s good that Hibbert already knows what to expect heading into training camp. Plenty of other players have fallen to Kobe’s golden standard that he holds himself and his teammates to, most notably Dwight Howard. Hibbert knowing how hard Bryant is on his teammates is really a bonus and could help build the chemistry right off the bat, something that Howard was never able to do.
This move could be a breath of fresh air for both sides however. It’s good to see Hibbert still has some competitive edge in him after putting up embarrassing stat lines in the playoffs two years ago. The Lakers, with their lineage of historic big men, could be the perfect place to recreate Hibbert into all-star form again.
