Playing alongside Bryant gave Payton an opportunity to see another side of the Lakers legend that the outside world never really got the chance to witness, and because of that, Payton thinks that there were some misconceptions about Bryant due to his on-court demeanor. "That kid was a kid that was really special, and he still should be here." "I'm glad I got a chance to be on the team and meet Kobe because after that we became really, really close," Payton said. Payton only played a single season with the Lakers, but it was during that season that he developed a deep bond with Bryant - a bond that still resonates with him today. It was a thing that just wasn't meant to be.
What people don't understand, Karl didn't play 62 games, Shaq didn't play 39 or so, Kobe didn't play about 35. As that was happening, we brought it all together and it was good. So one of the uncles took one of the nephews, the other uncle took the other nephew, and I really got to know Kobe like that and he became really, really close to me and a little brother. Then you got the two big uncles to come, and that was me and Karl. "Big brother wanted little brother to respect him, little brother didn't want to do it. They wanted something out of the other one, the other one wanted something out of the other one and they were acting like brats. It was just that you had two brothers - the bigger brother and the little brother – and they were competitors. "I had heard about all of the tension between Shaq and Kobe. "When we got into the season, it was just a little bit different," Payton said. It was up in the atmosphere and God probably didn't want it to happen." So everything was kind of not meant to be. That was probably the first superteam with the four of us," Payton said during an appearance on CBS Sports' Nothing Personal with David Samson. When me and Karl signed with the Lakers, I was coming for Shaq, and Karl was coming for me. That Lakers squad was comprised of four future Hall-of-Famers in Payton, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, but they ultimately lost to the Detroit Pistons in five games in the NBA Finals. However, according to NBA legend Gary Payton, the 2003-04 Los Angeles Lakers were actually the original superteam. Some say that the 2007-08 Boston Celtics with Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were the firsts, while others point to LeBron James joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat as the catalyst of the "superteam era." The origins of the superteam is also a contested topic. Some fans like to see a ton of top-tier talent on the same squad, while others argue that it's bad for league-wide parity. Superteams are a controversial topic among NBA fans.
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