Kobe credits socks for upset win, says shoulder feels 'solid'
Kobe Bryant had a simple explanation for how the Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a wild upset win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.
"How about that? The power of the socks. It's got to be the socks," Bryant said, according to ESPN's Baxter Holmes. "I think it's cool, man. It's cool to do stuff like that. My kids freaked out when they saw the other version of the socks that had my afro on the side. They thought that was pretty sweet. But it was fun to be a part of."
The Lakes donned Kobe-inspired socks Sunday, and, well, they worked, clearly.
The socks are part of the celebration that is Bryant's 20th and final season in the NBA. And Sunday's upset will likely go down as Bryant's most memorable game of his last six-month run.
"I'm just as speechless as you are about (Sunday)," Bryant joked after the victory, according to Holmes.
The Lakers acknowledged their luck and good fortune, as Golden State uncharacteristically missed open looks, but Bryant made sure his team knew what it would mean to knock off the Warriors.
"Kobe kept us on our toes," said D'Angelo Russell. "He was coaching us the whole game from the sideline."
For Kobe, it was about more than simply the victory, though. The game signaled the Lakers' progress on what is the long road back to contention.
"The improvement and the importance of this game is not necessarily in the win, but it’s in the fact that they executed the game plan very well. They paid attention to detail very well. For young guys, I think it’s extremely important to see the results of that. Like when you pay attention to little details, good things happen.
"As they grow, they start trusting that more and more. They start trusting the process more and more. From that aspect, I think it was a big game."
18 to go
Bryant, 37, has only 18 games to go in what has been an incredible career, and in a perfect world, he'll play in all of them. Shoulder issues cost Bryant three of four games before Sunday's game, but he's optimistic, Holmes writes.
"I don't know, man," Bryant said after being asked how many games he'll draw into before his career ends. "Hopefully all of them. I know that's wishful thinking, but hopefully.
"(The shoulder) is sore, but if I feel like it's not clicking or unstable, I'll go out and play. That being said, it feels solid right now."