Lakers News: Paul George Revealed How Kobe Bryant Supported Him After Gruesome Injury

Matt Levine | Sep 9, 2024

The Los Angeles Lakers have seen plenty of star players come through the organization over the years but none have been as memorable as former guard Kobe Bryant. Bryant left a legacy of excellence, and his memory has lived on forever since his unfortunate death back in early 2020.

Bryant was particularly interested in helping the other players around the NBA, especially toward the final years of his career. One player in particular that Bryant was impressed with was forward Paul George, who is now with the Philadelphia 76ers. 

George even changed his number after landing with the 76ers to No. 8, a move to honor the late Bryant. On his podcast, Podcast P With Paul George, the 76ers forward revealed that after he suffered a gruesome leg injury early in his career, Bryant heavily supported him in his recovery. 

“Obviously, he was just showing his support,” George said. “He was like, ‘If you need anything from me, I’m here. I’m in this with you.’ But he was just like, ‘The rehab is going to be tough. The work is going to be hard.’ And he was like, ‘Nobody wants to rehab,’ because this is the first time I’ve ever been injured or broke anything. I f—– my ankle up in college, but it didn’t require surgery; it was just time off. So this was like the first injury I ever had that required surgery. He was just like, ‘The work is going to be tedious, it’s going to be tiresome, you’re not going to want to do it, but he was like my advice is to attack rehab the same way you attack working out on the court.’ He was like, ‘You find fun in working out on the basketball court. You’ve got to find that same fun for the rehab. There’s no other way you’re going to get through it. It’s just attack rehab like you attack the basketball court.’ And that took me a long ways because instantly, I knew everything he said leading up to it. How hard it is, the tedious work it takes, doing the same shit day after day. That gets exhausting."

"And so if he didn’t tell me that and warn me ahead of time, then my mind kind of would’ve been all over the place of not being all the way there, trying to do this, not giving it 100 percent, but he kind of warned me on that. And so that second end of attacking it like basketball, I was like, ‘Alright, he said it was going to be tedious, but now I’ve got to just give it everything I got every time I work out.’ That was kind of the breakthrough. But I was surreal about the call. And I was still drugged up [at the time].”

Bryant himself also dealt with a bad injury so he understands how tough it is to come back from injury, both physically and mentally. He likely wanted to be a source of support for George as he navigated through this difficult time in his life.

George was appreciative of this notion from Bryant and he likely has carried it with him throughout his career. While he hasn't won a title to this point, the former first-round draft pick will have a good chance this season playing alongside co-stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, creating one of the best big-threes in the entire NBA.

If George can win the title, he will surely honor Bryant in some sort of way. It would be a special moment for all involved, but the Lakers are looking to avoid Philadelphia winning by winning the championship themselves this season.

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