Kobe Bryant still loves basketball and regularly weighs in on the game's biggest storylines and controversies. So, you know he couldn't let the Zion Williamson saga play out without letting everybody know where he stands.
The future Hall of Famer has quite a bit of perspective on the idea of forgoing college ball and decisions made by young players. He jumped directly from high school to start his NBA career. So, on the subject of whether or not players should be made to attend college, he came out on the "player's choice" side.
"Players should be able to choose and decide what the hell they want to do, to be honest. Whether you want to go to college or not really depends on you," he said in an interview with The Undefeated.
An injury to the NBA's top prospect sparked this conversation, but Bryant doesn't like the line that Williamson should sit out the season to preserve his health.
"In terms of Zion, if he’s healthy, he should go play. He made a decision to go to college, and injuries are a part of that process, and sometimes you get hurt, sometimes you don’t, man," he said. "But you made the decision to go to college and you made your commitment to the university, then by all means finish your commitment. I expect him to get healthy, get his knee better or whatever it was, and come out and kick ass."
He said that, ultimately, the decision to go to college or jump directly to the NBA should be a personal decision made by players after they weigh whether or not they are ready for the responsibility of professional basketball.
"Well, it’s not about whether you’re good enough to do it, it’s are you willing to get better day after day after day. So you can come out and not be ready, you can come out and be ready," Mamba said. "Are you willing to put basketball as your center focus and commit to it 110 percent? ... If you’re willing to make that commitment, then you’re ready to go."
