Russell Westbrook on Kobe Bryant’s recent defense of his high volume of shot attempts: ‘That’s my guy’

Kobe Bryant recently took to Twitter to defend Russell Westbrook, who had come under a bit of scrutiny for his high volume of shot attempts in trying to drag his team to the postseason.

It didn’t stop there.

Bryant continued to post messages detailing how some of the game’s historical greats have similarly been poorly-perceived, at least until championships were won.

Ppl will always find a way to critique Only way to shut up critics is to WIN That’s the challenge myself and Mj accepted #CantcritiqueRings

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 14, 2015

Media critique- Mj was a gunner Magic was a coach killer Shaq wasn’t serious Lbj couldn’t handle pressure Spurs r too old #BeforeRings — Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 14, 2015

There was more, but you get the idea.

When Westbrook himself was asked if he saw Bryant’s rant on the matter, he said that he had -- and appreciated the fact that Bryant came to his defense.

From Royce Young of ESPN.com:

“That’s my guy. That’s my guy. That’s my guy. Kobe’s a good friend of mine and being in L.A. I was able to watch him and see him become a Hall of Famer and one of the best players to play the game. It’s an honor to be able to see somebody like that, to be able to have your back and support you.”

Bryant and Westbrook are similar, in that they’re fiery players who will do whatever it takes to win -- and neither of them care what you might think about that, which is part of what makes them so polarizing.