Kobe Bryant was a perfectionist on the court. He strived to be faultless when he played and expected his teammates to be on the same time. But towards the end of his career, Kobe had some poor rosters around him filled with young players. He taught them all a lesson after a loss against the Portland Trail Blazers, as narrated by Lou Williams to Shaquille O’Neal on ‘The Big Podcast’.
“When I played with him, he got upset and said, ‘Now I touch the ball every time down the court. Y’all gon’ learn how it’s like to play with Kobe f***ing Bean Bryant…’ He cleaned our sh*t out. We got blown out in Portland, he went down the line, one at a time, and told everybody what the f**k was wrong with them. He went down the line, he skipped me, Metta World-Peace, and Brandon Bass. Everyone else got it.”
Williams then added that the next day in practice, the equipment manager took everyone’s Kobe’s and delivered a message on behalf of Bryant himself.
“We came in the next day for practice, I don’t know if Carlos was the equipment manager for y’all. He comes in, cool as ever, and starts racking Kobe’s out of motherf****ers lockers. Me and Nick Young sitting like, ‘What you doing?’ He said, ‘Kobe said he ain’t want y’all to wear his shoes, you f***ing are soft’.”
Kobe wasn’t about to let those boys rock his shoes after losing 🤣
Watch the newest episode of The Big Pod here: https://t.co/tVZlOoU5jM pic.twitter.com/6niERBbadC
— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) January 31, 2024
That’s a bold equipment manager for letting NBA players know that they’re ‘f**ing soft’. However, when you know the message is coming from Kobe, it had to have stung even more. Lou was playing for the Lakers in Kobe’s final season in the NBA, when the Lakers had no contention hopes whatsoever. Even if it was a losing season, Kobe held his teammates to a high standard.
Bryant averaged 17.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in his final season, retiring with a 60-point game. His competitive nature is appreciated by many looking back on his career, but Bryant alienated a fair share of his teammates by being acerbic to people he didn’t respect, even if they were teammates.
Smush Parker Called Playing With Kobe Bryant Overrated
Smush Parker played on the Lakers from 2005 to 2007, notorious for being the seasons that led to Kobe demanding a trade away from the Lakers because of the lack of help around him. Kobe didn’t get along with backcourt partner Parker over that time, with Smush recently saying playing with Kobe is overrated.
“I said it was an overrated experience, playing with Kobe Bryant because I have inside information, because I dealt with this man for two seasons, and my locker was here, his locker was here for two seasons. I watched this man put on his shoes every day for work. Like we shared a cubicle side by side. How do you do that for two seasons and never hold a conversation?”
Parker claims Kobe told him that he needed more accolades under his belt before he could even talk to Kobe.
“You can’t talk to me. You need more accolades under your belt before you talk to me.”
Parker averaged 11.3 points, and3.2 assists in his time with the Lakers.
The standard of player you need to be to have a relationship with Kobe was extremely high, but not all your teammates will be wired that way. While many appreciate that killer mentality Kobe had, he did alienate people because of that thinking.
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