Showing Shohei Ohtani a video of Kobe Bryant asking the two-way star to relocate to Los Angeles six years ago was the deciding factor for the Dodgers before their trade

An alleged six-year-old video of Kobe Bryant pleading with Shohei Ohtani to join the Los Angeles Dodgers was shown to him by the club in an effort to sway his decision.

After signing a record $700 million deal to transfer from the Angels to the Dodgers last week, Ohtani was formally introduced as a Dodger on Thursday.

The San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays were among many MLB teams that lost out on his signature to the Dodgers.

According to ESPN, Ohtani was reportedly influenced by his former Los Angeles opponents, who showed him a video of the late basketball great Bryant fervently pleading with him to sign with the Dodgers, in addition to the historic financial package.

The video was shot in 2017 while the two-way baseball sensation was still playing in Japan with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Tragically, Kobe was in a helicopter crаsh in January 2020.

As he considered which Major League Baseball club to sign with, the ex-Lakers player allegedly spoke to him personally and informed him, “there’s no better team in baseball to win with.”

‘The highlight of the whole meeting,’ Ohtani told ESPN of the “strong and touching message” that persuaded him to sign the hefty deal with the Dodgers.

On Thursday, Ohtani made public his rationale for selecting the Dodgers from a large field of suitors, explaining that the team’s hunger for victory was a major element.

He emphasized that everyone’s desire to win was the most crucial factor. In my opinion, this squad possesses that.

This week, news broke that the 29-year-old will postpone receiving $680 million of his $700 million contract until the next decade.

The deferral mechanism was something Ohtani was aware of, and he had heard that they were involved in major MLB contracts. ‘I did the math and looked into it.’ ‘My goal is to help the Dodgers build a better team by deferring as much money as possible, so that’s why I made that decision,’ Ohtani continued.

While acknowledging that he had had more elbow surgery at the press conference, Ohtani stressed that this technique was “different” from his initial Tommy John operation.

The decision on the procedure that Ohtani will undergo was reached after a lengthy process that began with a consultation with the doctor, the athlete explained. We were in the dark when the news was made. “That’s why I kept it a sеcrеt.”