Kobe Bryant Thinks Katy Perry Will Have a Longer Career Than Justin Bieber

There is a superbly well-written and revealing Kobe Bryant profile in March 31 issue of The New Yorker (it’s available to read online for New Yorker subscribers).

In the profile, written by Ben McGrath, Bryant revealed things most basketball fans already knew – that Shaq’s laziness drove him crazy; that Bryant plans on retiring after his contract is up in 2016. But one fun, random tidbit: Bryant believes Katy Perry will have a longer career than Justin Bieber.

Here’s an excerpt from the piece.

Kobe Bryant and a business associate have a running bet on the staying power of the pop stars Katy Perry and Justin Bieber. Bryant, who wears self-discipline like a badge, has long favored the more predictable Perry’s odds, and found in Bieber’s recent tabloid episodes hints of a looming implosion: talent spurned. As he and the associate walked into the dining room at the Four Seasons, in downtown Miami, in late January, the associate, a Belieber, mentioned that Bryant had been giving him a hard time about it for years.

Many NBA players have an inner circle – an entourage, if you will – and while you can totally picture say, for example, LeBron and Maverick Carter, Worldwide Wes, and others listen to Jay-Z and Biggie, it’s a silly and hilarious scenario to imagine a member of Kobe’s inner circle blasting Justin Bieber.