Lakers: Joel Embiid Credits Kobe Bryant For His Basketball Career

MVP candidate Joel Embiid talks about how Kobe inspired him to start playing basketball.

Lakers legend Kobe Bryant inspired legions of basketball players. The five-time World Champion's competitive spirit, the "Mamba mentality", was an inspiration for NBA players past, present, and future. 

In appearance on The Draymond Green Show podcast, 76ers center Joel Embiid revealed the profound impact Kobe had on his life.

“Kobe is the reason I started playing basketball.”

Embiid recalled how watching Kobe in the NBA Finals as a teenager inspired the 76ers superstar center to start playing basketball. 

“I was about 14 and I was watching the Finals. Lakers against Boston. That’s the first time I watched NBA basketball. Kobe was killing it and I was like, damn, I want to be like him. This is crazy.”

At the time, Embiid was playing volleyball and soccer as kid in Cameroon. Watching Kobe battle against the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals helped convince a young Embiid that basketball could be the sport for him.

In that series, Bryant averaged 28.6 points per game and played 41.2 minutes per game. He shot just 40.5% from the field, but in typically Kobe fashion, the Hall-of-Famer kept grinding when the shots weren't falling. Bryant averaged 8.5 free-throw attempts and 8 rebounds per game.

Embiid never had the chance to play against Kobe. The five-time All-Star was sidelined with a foot injury for Bryant's final two years in the NBA.

Embiid's story only reinforces that Kobe Bryant wasn't just a national icon. The 15-time All-NBA guard was inspiration for all across the globe.