‘I’m a Laker’
In the midst of recent speculation, including that of Coach Jackson, that he would finish his NBA career elsewhere, Bryant states that he doesn’t plan to play for anyone but the Lakers.
A lot of players want to go to different teams or contend to win championships. I’m a Laker, man. I’m a Laker for better or worse…How many times do I have to say that? Dude, I bleed purple and gold.
Hard cap on minutes
Lakers coach Scott says that Bryant will have a hard minutes cap this season. The cap is an attempt to preserve Bryant, who has had his last three seasons cut short by injuries. Scott:
I know Kobe’s a competitor and he’s going to play as many minutes as you want him to play. I’m also a competitor, so I want to win and I know having him on the court gives me the best opportunity to win.
Gives Swift banner
Bryant appears on stage during Swift’s show at Staples Center. Bryant presents her with a banner recognizing her for her record 16 sold-out shows at Staples Center, part of her 1989 tour. Swift:
The screams you hear from an LA crowd when Kobe walks out onstage are so deafening you think you may have permanent hearing loss. But it was SO WORTH IT
https://instagram.com/p/6rM1Akt7ph/?taken-by=staplescenterla
Scores 25,000 career points
Bryant becomes the youngest player to score 25,000 points in NBA history. Only 14 other players have reached the 25,000 point mark. The achievement comes with a free throw in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Bryant is 31 years and 151 days old, whereas the previous record Wilt Chamberlain was 31 years and 186 days old.
That’s what I do best. Steve Nash is a great passer, I’m a great scorer. It’s what I do…I’ve been very fortunate not to have to deal with serious injuries and having my career cut short. I think it’s a testament to that.
All-time Lakers scoring Leader
Bryant becomes the Laker’s franchise leading scorer in a regular season match against the Memphis Grizzlies, passing Jerry West. The achievement came on a dunk in the 3rd quarter. Bryant has 44 points for the night, but the Lakers end up losing the match.
It’s a great honor to say the least [because] of the great players that have played here and the tradition we have. [West] taught me so much when I was 17 years old. He showed me a lot about the game, the jump shot and spin moves and all the others. Even though it’s me passing him in the record books, it’s still us, and it’s still Magic and all the other great players.
Bryant, O’Neal clear the air
Bryant and O’Neal discuss their relationship on O’Neal’s The Big Podcast with Shaq. O’Neal and Bryant were teammates on the Lakers from 1996 to 2004, winning titles in 2000, 2001, and 2002. However, a constant feud between the two led to O’Neal’s eventual departure from the team in 2004. O’Neal:
It’s time to clear the air, because I’ve said many times that we were the most enigmatic, controversial, most talked-about, dominant one-two punch. I just want people to know that I don’t hate you, I know you don’t hate me. I called it today a ‘work beef,’ is what we had.
Bryant:
Here’s the thing — what we did, our disagreements, what made those things special is we said them to each other’s face. We didn’t go behind each other’s back and whisper to our teammates about this, that and the other, because that does nothing but create friction and it’s cancerous to the team.
Westbrook, Earl marry
Westbrook marries Earl, in Beverly Hills. The bride wears two dresses, the first by Vera Wang and the second by Monique Lhullier. Westbrook wears a Tom Ford tuxedo. The pair have their first dance to Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo’s Nothing Even Matters. Guests include Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, James Harden, and Khloe Kardashian.
https://twitter.com/russwest44/status/638112911395721216/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Rape, drugging suit filed
A woman sues Rose, accusing him of criminal activities including rape and drugging. The woman, identified only as “Jane Doe” in the lawsuit, claims that she dated Rose from 2011 to 2013. During that time, Rose allegedly tried to pressure her to masturbate in front of him, allow him to have sex with her friends and engage in group sex with strangers, all of which she says she refused. She says the two continued to date until August 2013, when Rose and two friends, Ryan Allen and Randall Hampton (who is Rose’s personal manager), invited her to Rose’s Beverly Hills house, where, she says, they slipped a drug into her drink with the aim of raping her. She escaped the house with a friend, but later that night, Rose and his friends broke into her apartment and gang raped her while she was incapacitated. She says she remembers only “flashes” of the incident, but can remember the defendants forcibly raping her. Rose’s spokesperson:
The plaintiff’s allegations are completely false and without any factual basis. This is nothing more than a desperate attempt to shake down a highly respected and successful athlete. Mr. Rose was in a non-exclusive, consensual sexual relationship with the plaintiff for over two years. The plaintiff expressed no complaints about Mr. Rose until various lawyers began to surface and demand that the plaintiff be paid millions of dollars
Shooting and arrest on Brown’s death anniversary
A gunfight occurs between four policemen and 18-year-old Harris on the periphery of demonstrations commemorating the killing a year ago of Brown. Harris is shot and critically wounded by the police. County prosecutors file charges against Harris for felony assault on law enforcement officer. Authorities say that the shooting is not related to the Brown protests. Attorney General Lynch:
The weekend’s events were peaceful and promoted a message of reconciliation and healing. But incidents of violence, such as we saw last night, are contrary to both that message, along with everything that all of us, including this group, have worked to achieve over the past year.
$1 billion for clean energy
Gates explains why he is investing $1 billion of his own money into clean energy research:
I believe that the next half-decade will bring many breakthroughs that will help solve climate change. As I argued in this 2010 TED talk, we need to be able to power all sectors of the economy with sources that do not emit any carbon dioxide. But when it comes to preventing the worst effects of climate change, the investments I make will matter much less than the choices that governments make…of all the people who will be affected by climate change, those in poor countries will suffer the most. Higher temperatures and less-predictable weather would hurt poor farmers, most of whom live on the edge and can be devastated by a single bad crop. Food supplies could decline. Hunger and malnutrition could rise. It would be a terrible injustice to let climate change undo any of the past half-century’s progress against poverty and disease—and doubly unfair because the people who will be hurt the most are the ones doing the least to cause the problem.
Charged Up
Drake releases Charged Up, a diss track aimed at Meek Mill. The track is in response to Mill’s recent comments, which accused Drake of using a ghostwriter for his songs. The song mostly consists of Drake freestyling over a subdued beat. While the song doesn’t address Mill by name, it is undoubtedly aimed at him:
Wow, I’m honored that you think this is staged / I’m flattered man, in fact I’m amazed / The perfect start to the summer man, this shit is a doozy / This sh*t is twistin’ the movie, but don’t jump to any conclusions / You boys aren’t getting’ any of your feelins on me / You should embrace it this could be one of our realest moments / OK, the flow’s startin’ to feel familiar, don’t it? / Must I remind you that Jimmy got twenty million on it.
Back to Back
Drake releases Back to Back, a second diss track against Mill. The track release is part of an ongoing feud between the two artists. In the track, Drake emasculates Mill for serving as the opening act for his girlfriend Nicki Minaj’s tour:
You love her then you gotta give the world to her / Is that a world tour or your girl’s tour?/ I know that you gotta be a thug for her / This ain’t what she meant when she told you to open up more
Drake also takes aim at Mill’s decision to beef through social media:
Trigger fingers turn to Twitter fingers / You’re getting bodied by a singing n*gga
Claims Drake uses ghostwriter
In a series of Twitter posts, Mill accuses Drake of being a fake. Mill claims that Drake doesn’t write his own lyrics and employs a ghostwriter. Drake recently featured on Mill’s album Dreams Worth More Than Money. However, Mill was upset when Drake didn’t promote the album through social media.
Stop comparing drake to me too…. He don’t write his own raps! That’s why he ain’t tweet my album because we found out! Don’t compare me to none of the cats that don’t write they own raps either…… Lol. He ain’t even write that verse on my album and if I woulda knew I woulda took it off my album….. I don’t trick my fans! Lol
Fights FCC fine
AT&T fights back against the $100 million fine that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) planned on issuing against the company. The FCC claimed that AT&T mislead customers about its “unlimited” data plans. AT&T in a filing with the FCC:
The Commission’s findings that consumers and competition were harmed are devoid of factual support and wholly implausible. Its ‘moderate’ forfeiture penalty of $100 million is plucked out of thin air, and the injunctive sanctions it proposes are beyond the Commission’s authority.
Claims $25 million stolen
Duncan files a lawsuit against Banks, his long-time financial adviser, claiming Banks stole $25 million from him:
Luckily I had a long career and made good money. This is a big chunk, but it’s not going to change my life in any way. It’s not going to make any decisions for me…The bottom line is this: You can’t be angry at yourself. I keep going back to this word, but I trusted someone. I was wrong about it. I got screwed over for it. I’m not mad at myself for that. That’s a lesson learned. I’ll never put myself in that situation again.
Last season with Lakers
Bryant tells general manager Kupchak that the 2015-16 season will be his last season with the Lakers. Bryant is 36 years old, and will be entering his 20th season in the NBA. Kupchak:
I think first and foremost, he’s on the last year of a deal. There have been no discussions about anything going forward. I don’t think there will be. A year from now, if there’s something different to discuss, then it will be discussed then. I talk to him from time to time … and he is recovering. He’s running. He’s getting movement and strength in the shoulder. We expect a full recovery, but yeah, he’s much closer to the end than to the beginning.
Knicks 104-97 Mavericks
The Knicks defeat the defending champions Dallas Mavericks. Lin has 28 points and 14 assists in the victory. For the Mavericks, Nowitzki drops 34 points and 5 rebounds. Lin:
This is helpful to us, not just to me but to us, just to be able to see where our team can go and what we can become, and I think that’s the biggest takeaway from tonight
Mavericks guard Terry:
I think they found something in Lin, and they’re starting to piece together a team that can beat anyone
Pelicans 89-85 Knicks
The Pelicans defeat the Knicks and snap their seven-game winning streak. Lin puts up 26 points and 5 assists, but also has 9 turnovers in the loss. Ariza has 25 points and 8 rebounds for the Pelicans. Lin:
Just a lackluster effort on my part coming out and careless with the ball, and so nine turnovers is obviously never going to get it done from your primary ballhandler. It’s on me in terms of taking care of the ball and also the game in general.
Knicks 100-85 Kings
The New York Knicks defeat the Sacramento Kings for their seventh straight win. Lin plays distributor and puts up 10 points and 13 assists in the game. Lin:
As a point guard, my field goal attempts have been really high and I don’t think that’s necessarily good. I think it’s more of my job to distribute and get people in rhythm.
Knicks Coach D’Antoni:
I just thought we played really exceptionally well the first quarter. Just the ball was moving, every time we drew up a play they ran it perfectly. Every time I think there was an opportunity to make a great pass, they did it.
Knicks 90-87 Raptors
Linsanity continues as the New York Knicks defeat the Toronto Raptors. Lin puts up 27 points, 11 assists, and the game-winning three to extend the Knicks’ win-streak to six. Coach D’Antoni jokes:
I’m just glad it went like this so we can calm the Linsanity down
Lin:
It’s not because of me, it’s because we’re coming together as a team. We started making these steps earlier but we were still losing close games and so obviously it wasn’t fun. But when you win, that solves a lot of problems. We’ve been winning and we’ve been playing together.