Lakers News: Former Tom Brady Teammate Reveals NFL Legend Was Huge Fan of LA Star

The seven-time Super Bowl winner, originally from Northern California, was a massive appreciator of this Lakers Hall of Famer.

NFL legend Tom Brady is all smiles before an NFL football game at Huntington Bank Field, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady, who originally hails from Northern California, in San Mateo, was a massive appreciator of Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Fame shooting guard Kobe Bryant, according to a longtime New England Patriots teammate.

During a recent episode of sports insider Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson's "Scoop B Radio" podcast, two-time Patriots Super Bowl champion running back Brandon Bolden revealed that the quarterback many consider to be the best football player in league history — who managed to stay great throughout a stunningly-lengthy 23-year NFL career — particularly responded to the 18-time All-Star wingman's relentless drive.

“Yeah, he's a big Kobe fan. Huge," Bolden said. "Their work ethic, how they go about the game, that ‘Mamba mentality’ — yeah, I see a lot of similarities between them.”

Bryant, in turn, appreciated Brady's greatness, too. Bolden explained that the 6-foot-6 wing out of Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia would occasionally visit New England team practices.

“You would have thought they met the Prince of Zamunda, how everybody was just so like, ‘Oh my God, it’s Kobe!’ Bolden recalled.

Infamously drafted with the No. 199 overall pick out of Michigan in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, the 6-foot-4 signal caller assumed starting duties with the Patriots for the club's Super Bowl-bound 2001 season, his first as a Pro Bowler.

All told, Brady led his Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers squads to ten Super Bowls, claiming seven. He was a 15-time Pro Bowler, a five-time Super Bowl MVP, a three-time Associated Press MVP, and a six-time All-Pro. Brady made the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-2000s and All-2010s Teams. Brady holds a boatload of NFL records. He has the most career quarterback wins (251), the most career passing completions (7,753), career passing attempts (12,050), career passing touchdowns (659), career passing yards (89,214), most passing completions in a season (490, in 2022), the longest touchdown pass ever (99 yards, a tie with 12 other quarterbacks), career playoff quarterback victories (35), career playoff passing yards (13,400), and career playoff passing touchdowns (88).

Bryant wasn't without his on-court accolades, either. He would go on to lead Los Angeles to seven NBA Finals, winning five titles. Bryant was the 2008 MVP, a two-time Finals MVP, a 15-time All-NBA honoree, and a 12-time All-Defensive Teamer.

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