The excitement surrounding the Los Angeles Rams is on another level after Myles Garrett’s arrival, as he is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and one of the best players in the league.
After being traded to Los Angeles, Garrett made his first major public appearance and immediately started winning over fans by paying tribute to the legacy of late LA icon Kobe Bryant.
Myles Garrett Embraces Los Angeles With Kobe Bryant Tribute
Garrett made an appearance at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch during the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Los Angeles Angels game.
Garrett was wearing a vintage Bryant shirt, which Los Angeles fans appreciated.
Myles Garrett wore a Kobe shirt to throw out the first pitch tonight.
cc: @LakersNation @RamsNewswire pic.twitter.com/ACb8EOP6VC— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) June 7, 2026
Garrett saw the Dodgers’ offense immediately steal the spotlight, exploding for nine runs in the opening inning against the Angels. Shohei Ohtani delivered a home run in the first frame, while Andy Pages added a two-run blast to fuel the early surge.
With the Dodgers continuing to dominate and Garrett now part of the Los Angeles sports scene, there is plenty of excitement in the city. The 2026 Rams are also considered a superteam in their own right, becoming the first squad in NFL history to roster both the reigning MVP (Matthew Stafford) and Defensive Player of the Year. Some have even drawn comparisons between the Rams and Dodgers in terms of their star power and dominance.
It is safe to say that Garrett is trying his best to fit in well with the Los Angeles community. As for his tribute to Bryant, he has long expressed admiration for the late NBA legend. He has previously spoken about studying Bryant’s mindset and “killer instinct,” crediting the NBA star as a major influence on his competitive approach, including in interviews and short-form features like those from Boardroom in October 2024.
Garrett’s former Cleveland Browns teammate Denzel Ward had previously compared the duo to the NFL equivalent of Shaquille O’Neal and Bryant.
Besides loving Bryant and wanting to pay tribute to a Los Angeles legend, Garrett also has deep, lifelong ties to basketball, as he was a heavily scouted basketball star in high school. He was a multi-sport standout at Martin High School in Arlington, Texas, where he lettered in football, track, and basketball. Early in his NFL career, he would still play basketball during the offseason and once even went viral in 2021 for his on-court highlights.
However, concerns about injury risk eventually led to a change in approach, with former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski jokingly saying that Garrett had officially “retired” from basketball activities.
Now, Garrett is hoping to put up monster numbers in the Rams’ defense after a dominant season in which he set the NFL’s all-time single-season sack record with 23. He earned a 95.6 PFSN EDGE Impact score last season, ranking No. 1 overall.
