Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant gave rookie Julius Randle some tough love.

The Lakers have just snapped their pre-season losing streak with a win against the Utah Jazz. They trailed by as much as 22 points but came strong later in the game for the win.

Bryant and Carlos Boozer led the way, with 26 and 19 points respectively. Boozer also contributed six steals to the game, while Ronnie Price had 10 assists.

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Randle was also a point of excited focus after the game. The number seven draft pick had his best performance in the NBA with eight points and amazing effort on defense. For the first time, Byron Scott praised Randle.

When the media went to the locker room to speak to Bryant after the game, he had some tough love to give the rookie.

Bryant sees that Randle is in a good situation. He is in a good spot to succeed. He has so many good players on the Lakers roster to teach and mentor him along the way. Combine that with the talent that he sees, and he has the workings for success in the NBA.

If he messes up, it is all on him. "If you f*** this up, you're a really big idiot," Bryant said.

Before people start speculating that Bryant is once again putting pressure on Randle through the media, a following interview with the rookie revealed that he was on the same page.

The media stated that he was being seen as an all-star type player. When asked how he was processing all of that, Randle echoed what Bryant said.

"It's up for me to mess it up."

He went on to explain that he could not mess up this opportunity, unless he really wanted to.

For 19 years, Randle has been preparing for the NBA. Now that the opportunity is here, it is up to him where he takes his career. 

TagsJulius Randle, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, byron scott