Not long after Klay Thompson signed his four-year extension with the Golden State Warriors in 2014, he lit up the Lakers for one of the most efficient performances of his career, and Kobe Bryant had something to say.
Wesley Johnson, then a forward for the Lakers, was on the court that night. He recently revealed that Kobe Bryant reached out to him afterward with a message that stuck.
“We played against Golden State, and I think Klay just signed his deal,” Johnson said. “And Klay went crazy – wasn’t missing, and we lost the game. That was a rough two years when I was there, but lost that game. And he (Bryant) texts me a long text message saying that was his gift and his curse to take on everything by himself.
“So, you saying Mamba Mentality, it’s kinda fitting to hear and see and read that text, him sending me, telling like, ‘I can just basically take on everybody by myself if I have to.’ So, me reading that as my first year with the Lakers and seeing that, it was like, ‘Oh, okay. I see this side of him. I see, nah, this is not the workout Kobe, this is the killer Kobe in the game.’
“And that lightbulb switched for me like, ‘Okay, now I see why a lot of teammates, a lot of peers really have a tough time playing alongside of him ’cause he has a high standard and a high passion for this game.’”
That season was actually Johnson’s second year in purple and gold, though his first with Bryant fully healthy after injury. Across his two-year Lakers stint, Johnson averaged 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and shot 36 percent from beyond the arc.
While his time in L.A. came during one of the franchise’s least successful stretches, just 48 total wins in two seasons, Johnson says moments like that text from Bryant showed him the mentality required to compete at the highest level.
