{"id":803410,"date":"2026-08-04T09:24:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T09:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/803410\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T09:24:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T09:24:19","slug":"spider-man-star-explains-how-kobe-bryants-la-lakers-rookie-teammate-gave-him-hope-for-the-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/803410\/","title":{"rendered":"Spider-Man star explains how Kobe Bryant’s LA Lakers rookie teammate gave him hope for the role"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/ Follow us on Google Discover <\/a> <\/p>\n

Spider-Man star Jacob Batalon spoke about finding inspiration from D\u2019Angelo Russell during the audition process for him to play Ned Leeds alongside Tom Holland.<\/p>\n

Batalon was in the audition process to land the role of Ned Leeds in the Spider-Man franchise during the Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 2015-16 season, which would mark the final year of Kobe Bryant\u2019s legendary career.<\/p>\n

The season had not gone well, and Batalon, a huge Lakers fan, took it as a sign that his audition wouldn\u2019t go well either. However, one unexpected star turned the team\u2019s fortunes around, and did the same for Batalon\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n

\"KobePhoto by Jason Miller\/Getty ImagesJacob Batalon claims seeing D\u2019Angelo Russell lead LA Lakers during Kobe Bryant\u2019s injury inspired him<\/p>\n

Speaking on the Zach Sang Show, Spider-Man: Brand New Day star Jacob Batalon reflected on his audition process for the role of Ned Leeds in 2016.<\/p>\n

Batalon recalled watching an LA Lakers game during the 2015-16 season and being inspired by D\u2019Angelo Russell\u2019s game-winning heroics, that he would land the role in the franchise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a Lakers fan. I remember, this was the game that was on. We hadn\u2019t won\u2026 It\u2019s been a couple of years since Kobe had gone down with the Achilles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember I was in my hotel room, watching this game. It was a rookie, D\u2019Angelo Russell, and they won the game! And I was like, \u2018Oh my god, this might be a sign that I might get this job!’\u201d<\/p>\n

While Batalon did end up landing the role of Ned Leeds, D\u2019Angelo Russell did not become the superstar many fans had hoped he would with the Los Angeles Lakers, despite having two stints with the team.<\/p>\n

Jacob Batalon also shows love to the New York Knicks<\/p>\n

Speaking further during the podcast appearance, Batalon also showed support for the New York Knicks, the home team of his character, Ned Leeds.<\/p>\n

MORE LOS ANGELES LAKERS STORIES<\/p>\n

\u201cBut also, I love the Knicks too, shoutout to the Knicks. They let me sit courtside all the time!\u201d<\/p>\n

As a key figure in the Spider-Man universe in New York, Batalon has to show love to the Knicks, given that they are the team Spider-Man and his friends will support.<\/p>\n

Balancing allegiances between the Knicks and the Lakers, two of the most popular teams in the NBA based in two of the biggest media markets in the world, is a difficult task.<\/p>\n

Batalon must find a way to keep his love for both teams intact, even if they somehow find themselves on opposite ends of the court next June during the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

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Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow us on Google Discover Spider-Man star Jacob Batalon spoke about finding inspiration from D\u2019Angelo Russell during the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":803411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3790],"tags":[7,1536,4034,1698,300,4044,251,150,4033,4043,6],"class_list":["post-803410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-lakers","tag-basketball","tag-kobe-bryant","tag-la","tag-la-lakers","tag-lakers","tag-lalakers","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangeleslakers","tag-nba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117036519836025047","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}