Malika Andrews drew a lot of attention recently after she went off on a Matt Barnes take during a recent edition of ESPN’s NBA Today. The young analyst was joined by Barnes, Ramona Shelburne, and Kendrick Perkins to discuss the Los Angeles Lakers’ elimination from play-in contention.
Barnes compared LeBron James’ leadership to two legends, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, saying that they would have been very pissed if they saw the effort the 2022 Lakers put in to get into the playoffs.
“You look at someone like a Kobe Bryant. When I’ve seen him personally get in people’s faces and just cuss them out until they’re damn near in tears, and they’re grown men,” Barnes said. “Michael Jordan probably would have been fighting his teammates if he had to see some of the stuff that these guys do,” Barnes said.
Andrews wasn’t having any of that and replied to Barnes, recalling that Kobe didn’t do much when he, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash were injured during the 2012/13 NBA season or during his 19th season.
“When Kobe, Dwight and Nash all had injuries, they didn’t win a playoff game. The year 19, when he was averaging 22 on 37% shooting, the Lakers went 10-25 in the games that he played in. I understand what you’re saying, Matt, but I’m not sure I’d say Kobe Bryant would have been the white horse… If you get in someone’s face and it doesn’t turn into wins, then you’re just getting in someone’s face.”
https://twitter.com/ThePettiestLA/status/1512147089697886208
Malika was visibly upset by Barnes’ words, and the former player tried to clarify that Kobe wouldn’t have been the savior, but he would have let his teammates know that there were some issues between them to see if they can react. He didn’t criticize LeBron’s leadership and Malika didn’t dismiss Kobe’s, either, but things got really heated as they tried to defend their points.
