Kobe Bryant Sticks Up for LeBron: "Back off Him and Let Him Play"

Last week, the Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love, perhaps eager to have anyone pay attention to him, said that pretty much every player in the NBA was celebrating the Miami Heat's NBA Finals loss and LeBron's collapse. Well, turns out that LeBron still has at least one defender in the league...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

August 3, 2011

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "19274298",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17482312",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482310",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482313",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Last week, the Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love, perhaps eager to have anyone pay attention to him, said that pretty much every player in the NBA was celebrating the Miami Heat's NBA Finals loss and LeBron's collapse. Well, turns out that LeBron still has at least one defender in the league outside of his teammates, and surprisingly it's Kobe Bryant. The Lakers star recently told LeBron's haters to back off.

"I think people need to lay off that kid, that's what I think," Bryant said during a recent ESPN interview. "I've gotten to know him pretty well, playing with the Olympic team, and I think they just need to back off him and just let him play and let him live his life and let him make his decisions and let him mature as a player."

"It's tough to be under the microscope like that all the time," Bryant continued. "So, I would like everybody to just back off of him and just let him play."

That's quite a big change from the Lakers vs. Heat game last Christmas Day when the two superstars appeared to get in a much-discussed verbal confrontation during the final minutes of the Miami victory.

Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.