Did Mookie Betts Tell Kobe Bryant He Wanted To Play For Dodgers Before Trade?

Sunday would have been Kobe Bryant’s 42nd birthday, and tributes to the late Los Angeles Lakers legend took place all over the country — especially in L.A.

And the Dodgers were no exception.

Players on Major League Baseball squads donned Bryant’s gold Lakers jersey during a pregame ceremony, with longtime broadcaster Vin Scully narrating a bittersweet montage dedicated in memory of the future NBA Hall of Famer.

Mookid Betts posted his own message about Bryant on Sunday.

“Our last conversation was ‘I will see you when I get to LA’,” Betts wrote in a caption on Instagram. “Happy Birthday to a real-life superhero Kobe ‘Bean’ Bryant!!! #MambaMentality.”

Their last conversation was about the Betts going to L.A., but Bryant tragically passed away at the end of January. Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox didn’t trade Betts to the Dodgers until February.

Maybe Betts was referring to a trip he was taking the West Coast, but if you want to get cryptic, it could also mean Betts had planned to leave Boston for Los Angeles in his eventual free agency already, and perhaps revealed that to Bryant. Not that it matters anymore.

As much as Boston fans miss Betts going yard in a Red Sox uniform at Fenway Park, we wish Bryant could be here today to meet up with Betts in L.A.