Kobe Bryant: Why He Needs To Develop Team-First Mentality for Lakers To Thrive

Kobe Bryant resorted to some old bad habits in last night’s Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Indiana Pacers. On the surface, it appears that Kobe has fully recovered from offseason knee surgery. But, there is a deeper issue now developing in LA.

Scoring 41 points last night was Kobe’s biggest outburst of the season but does this bode well for the Lakers and their title defense? Not at all. 

Kobe must maintain a consistent team-first mentality for the Lakers to thrive. That’s been proven over and over again since the arrival of center Pau Gasol. Head coach Phil Jackson’s vaunted triangle offense is predicated on a team-first mindset.

But, let's keep some perspective. There are reasons why Kobe has been forced to score. Yes, forced to score, and we’ll cover those on the upcoming slides.

So, what are the key things that are gained when Kobe adopts a team-first mentality?

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