Kobe Bryant was a scoring machine, especially after Shaquille O’Neal moved on from the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant was known for taking a lot of shots and making them too, very few could take over a game like him. And in his time, he dominated a lot of defenders, a list that includes J.R. Smith.
J. R. Smith came into the league in 2004, and in his first game against the Mamba, Bryant went for 31 points. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Hornets and Smith had just 2 points in the game. Speaking to JJ Redick recently, he explained what it was like to guard Kobe Bryant for the first time.
“Byron Scott, my rookie year, first time guarding Kobe. In practice, we go over and do the walk-through, whatever. He’s like, ‘Yeah, he’s gonna go 2 dribbles baseline, he’s gonna pump fake, he’s gonna pump fake again. Just stay down. No matter how many times he pump fakes, just stay down.’ I’m like, ‘Alright.’
“I go to shootaround, he’s like, ‘Look bro, he’s gonna take two dribbles to the right, pump fake, pump fake, just stay down.’ I’m like, ‘Alright man, I got it.’ And he said, ‘Alright, you acting like that, the moment he do it and you jump, I’m taking yo a** out of the game.’
“Bro, when I tell you I wasn’t in the game 7 seconds. Sure enough, out of the timeout, I get subbed in, he catch the ball on the wing, 2 dribbles right, what do I do… And one. Sub. I’m like, ‘Oh my God.'”
Instincts just take over sometimes pic.twitter.com/qCuItW7WyA
— TheYoungManAndTheThree (@OldManAndThree) April 14, 2023
What makes the greatest players truly great is that they will make moves that most people are expecting, but do it so well that the opponents just can’t stop. Kobe Bryant was the best at that. Even if someone knew his moves, there was nearly no way to stop him when he had it going.
A Lot Of Great Defenders Struggled To Guard Kobe Bryant
To be fair to J. R. Smith, he wasn’t the only player that Kobe Bryant torched with impunity during his career. Kenyon Martin once described trying to stop Kobe as a ‘chess match.’ And he’s not the only one, Tayshaun Prince once spoke about what made Bryant unique as well.
Jalen Rose had him in his Top 5 of toughest players to guard, it’s clear that Kobe Bryant was not one to be trifled with. J. R. Smith certainly never quite figured it out, Bryant averaged 28.9 points per game in 34 appearances against teams that Smith was on.
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