Halliburton: When I was a kid, I was black because of Mijan, and now I think Kobe Bryant is the strongest in history

In an interview, Kings guard Teres Halliburton spoke about his admiration for Lakers forward LeBron James.

"For me, I've always liked LeBron very much. Bought all kinds of jerseys, big posters of his Tomahawk dunks, all kinds of stuff. It's crazy to think about it, because of the arguments people have about LeBron and Kobe [Bryant], I hated Kobe as a kid. I know how good he is, but he's a major threat to LeBron. My mom used to go to Nike stores and buy back Kobe-related stuff like T-shirts and shorts. I said to her, 'Mom, I don't want it, don't give it to me.' When I got older I started wearing his shoes, but those clothes, I just don't wear. As I grew older, I started to appreciate Kobe more. Now he's gone, but I'm starting to appreciate him more as I continue to grow up. I really think he's the best player in history, the most talented player. But as a kid, I would never say that. ”

Talking about whether he was nervous against James, Hariburton said: "To be honest, no. Not at all. It was late in the season, when [Aaron] Fox was out of play, we were fighting for the playoffs, we were in Los Angeles. It was like, 'I'm ready. The Lakers had beaten us at home before, so I was very focused before the game and I knew I had to take on more pressure on both ends of the floor. And being defended by Dennis (Schroeder), he was pressing on me all over the pitch and stuff like that, and I was very focused and didn't think about that. But being there with him was a great moment. My mom called me after the game and said, 'I thought you were going to be nervous.' I said, 'No, Mom, it's late season, I've basically played with everybody, it's not like that anymore.' ’”

Halliburton had 23 points and 10 assists in that game to help the Kings beat the Lakers 110-106.