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Jalen Williams responds back to social media haters who call him 'corny.'

Growing up a Kobe Bryant fan, Jalen Williams recently paid homage to his basketball hero. Playing an entire playoff run with an injured wrist, the 24-year-old helped lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to their first NBA championship.

When you win the Larry O'Brien trophy, you've earned all the bragging rights. Williams has taken advantage of that benefit. He's flexed the championship after being widely questioned on whether he was a good enough second-best player on a title contender.

Williams took to social media to share a side-by-side photo of himself and Bryant. Both wore pajamas at the free-throw line to attempt a one-handed shot. The other hand was wrapped in a cast after surgery. As is the case for most social media posts with a social-media-savvy NBA star, there were some criticisms from fan accounts.

The buzzword used in Williams' reply was "corny" as he compared himself to Bryant. The Los Angeles Lakers legend has quite a vocal fanbase. That's what happens when you win five rings on the NBA's marquee franchise. The 23-year-old received criticism for being a copycat.

Of course, none of it matters in real life. What these anonymous accounts say online rarely reflects Williams' reality. He replied to an Instagram comment to show that. An account said they felt bad that the 24-year-old was flamed on social media for showing love to his favorite player of all time. He's never been shy about his fandom of Bryant since he arrived in the NBA.

"tbh the same people calling me corny couldn't hold my water in real life, prolly would ask for a selfie if we was face to face," Williams wrote.

That's probably a good way to view it if you're Williams. It comes with the territory of being one of the NBA's best players and recently winning an NBA championship. There will always be a section of fans who villainize him, even if they need to resort to off-court qualities like his personality or how he carries himself online.

All you can do is shrug your shoulders and move on. The Thunder have dealt with what every NBA superteam has dealt with since the league was created. The only difference between now and the beginning is that social media platforms allow critics' voices to be louder.