Former ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski continues to drop “Woj Bombs” post-retirement.
In an appearance on Carmelo Anthony’s “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast this week, Woj revealed that the late Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant “was convinced that he was gonna end up with the Knicks.”
Woj said Kobe told him, “They’re gonna amnesty me. And no one’s gonna claim me on waivers. And I’m gonna go sign with the Knicks.”
It’s unclear when Kobe said that to Woj, but the NBA’s amnesty clause was introduced in 2011 and phased out in 2016.
The Lure of the World’s Greatest Arena
Kobe, Woj said, “loved the Lakers” and “only ever really wanted to be there” in Los Angeles, but “would fantasize about the Garden.”
Melo, who played for the New York Knicks from 2011 to 2017 affirmed Woj’s claim, saying about Kobe and Madison Square Garden: “That’s all he talked about.”
Bryant, like many visiting NBA stars, had a knack for lighting it up at MSG. The highlight of his Garden career is, of course, his 61-point game performance on February 2, 2009 — a record that Melo broke in 2014 when he scored 62 points against the Charlotte Bobcats.
Kobe’s 61-Point Game at MSG
Years later, in the “The Book of Kobe Bryant” documentary, he spoke of his mindset before that game.
The team had just learned that center Andrew Bynum would be out for 8-12 weeks with a torn MCL. Kobe said he had to “send a message to my guys and say, ‘No, listen — we’re doing this…we’re getting it done.”
He spoke of the importance of getting into a mindset in which nothing else matters — not even the front row lined with A-list celebrities. Kobe said, “I don’t want to see celebrities on the sideline…I don’t care about none of y’all tonight.”
The Knicks had some success in those initial years with Melo, but never made it deep into the playoffs. Paired with Melo, Kobe could have brought the Knicks a championship.
That, of course, is the distant past. As for the present, the resurgent Knicks, powered by the NBA’s best offense, are very much focused on a title run.
Watch Highlights of Kobe’s 61-Point Game at MSG
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