Tim Thomas recently shared a fascinating story about his rivalry with Kobe Bryant during their high school days, revealing that Bryant reportedly had him at the very top of his competitive ‘kill list.’
Speaking with DJ Vlad on Vlad TV, Thomas responded to stories told by several NBA stars who remembered the hype surrounding him as a teenager.
DJ Vlad: “Well, people have talked about you in this era. For example, Paul Pierce said none of us knew Kobe; he was a late bloomer. It was Tim Thomas and Lamar Odom who were the real stars. Kevin Garnett said back then, it was all about the manchild from Patterson named Tim Thomas. Lord, he was NBA-ready as a sophomore. Rip Hamilton said Kobe had a kill list. Tim Thomas was the number one dude. The day before the game, Kobe wouldn’t go to sleep. He’d be pacing back and forth, saying, ‘Yo Rip, tomorrow I’m going to kill this dude.'”
Tim Thomas: “Yeah, I’ll tell you a funny story on that. So that actual game, me and Kobe never actually got a chance to play against each other, other than being in the NBA. In high school, we were an hour and a half away from each other and never got a chance to play against each other. He was number one, I was number two, or I was number one, and he was number two, however you wanted it to go.”
“But that actual game Rip was talking about, that was when we split from the AAU, and Kobe went back and played with his Philly-based AAU program. And I was actually playing baseball. I went back and did the Michael Jordan thing. I went back and played baseball, and it was an event down in Maryland.”
“They made it to the championship, my team made it to the championship, and I drove down just to play in that one game. So I walked in the gym like Tom Shepard, and by the time I got there, Kobe already had like 15. I got there a little late, and they ended up winning that game.”
“But that had nothing to do with Kobe catching me or taking the number one rank. I think that happened, shout out to L.O., he just mentioned it on Vince and Mac’s podcast, The Cousins. At ABCD basketball camp, our last summer, the very first game, I dunked the ball and tore my fingernail off.”
“So they put a soft cast on it. I ended up playing that last game, and that was it for me. I couldn’t play the rest of the week. And I had to watch Kobe just kill everybody, you know what I mean? So now you can have your pick. Some people like fish, some people like steak, so it is what it is.”
DJ Vlad: “Well, we get to your senior year. You averaged 25.3 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 4.6 blocks per game. You made the McDonald’s All-American team, and at that point, that’s a big deal. Kobe was part of that: Rip Hamilton, Stephen Jackson, Mike Bibby, Jermaine O’Neal. Probably the greatest, or one of the greatest McDonald’s All-American classes.”
Tim Thomas: “But I was a three-time McDonald’s All-American. I was a three-time McDonald’s All-American and two-time New Jersey Player of the Year. So it’s hard to jump into someone else’s class twice. So yeah, I was blessed with it, man. I was really blessed with it. I was that good.”
DJ Vlad: “Well your senior year, were you deciding whether to go to college or go pro? Because Kobe went pro, and you saw what happened then. What was the reason you ended up going to college instead?”
Tim Thomas: “I always wanted to be a top-10 draft pick. Always. Because back then, and it still is, it’s more about the money with the draft and the pick. So I always tell people this story too. If I would have come out in that class, history could have been changed. Not in the sense of Kobe not becoming the Kobe that we all know. God rest his soul. But Kobe being on another team. Because what if Boston would have picked him up? You think they’d trade him?”
DJ Vlad: “Yeah, it would have shifted the whole draft possibly.”
Tim Thomas: “No, not even the whole draft. Because I would have been the first high schooler that they would have taken. Remember, I’m 6’10”, 240. I’m already NBA ready.”
DJ Vlad: “Okay, so you would have been picked above Kobe that year.”
Tim Thomas: “And the first pick was going to be the 13th pick by the Charlotte Hornets. They were the ones saying we’re going to take one of these high school kids. I would have been the first one. So that’s why I said history would have been changed. Because during that draft, what if Boston or Philly or whoever would have drafted Kobe? You think they’d trade him? You never know. So he may not have been a Laker for a long time.”
DJ Vlad: “Yeah, but he still would have dominated somewhere else. Kobe’s still Kobe. He just wouldn’t have gone to the Lakers.”
Tim Thomas: “Right. He just wouldn’t have been on the Lakers with that history. That’s all I’m saying. Kobe was going to be Kobe. There was no stopping that.”
At the time, Bryant starred at Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania while Thomas dominated in New Jersey. Both players were consistently ranked among the top prospects in the country, often trading the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in recruiting rankings. The closest they came to facing each other before the NBA was during an AAU tournament in Maryland.
Thomas said he had temporarily stepped away from basketball to play baseball, joking that he ‘did the Michael Jordan thing.’ When his team reached the championship game, he drove down to participate in that single matchup. By the time he arrived at the gym, Bryant had already started dominating.
Another turning point in their rivalry came during the famous ABCD basketball camp, one of the premier events for elite high school players in the United States. Thomas said he injured his hand early in the week after tearing his fingernail while dunking, which forced him to miss most of the camp.
Thomas also revealed that the hype around him went far beyond recruiting rankings. As an 18-year-old, he turned down a massive $18 million shoe deal from Adidas and reportedly received outrageous offers from college boosters, including one proposal that included $3 million in cash, a $2 million home, and four cars.
Despite those offers, he chose to attend Villanova University before declaring for the 1997 NBA Draft, where he was selected seventh overall by the New Jersey Nets.
Although they never met in high school, Thomas and Bryant eventually faced each other many times in the NBA. Bryant’s teams went 22–11 against Thomas overall, including a 19–7 record in the regular season.
Thomas did get the better of Bryant in one notable playoff series when his Phoenix Suns eliminated Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers in the 2006 Western Conference first round after trailing 3–1. Across those matchups, Bryant averaged 28.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists, while Thomas averaged 11.6 points and 4.9 rebounds.
Thomas went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA, appearing for teams including the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, and Dallas Mavericks. Over his career, he averaged 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game.
While Bryant ultimately became one of the greatest players in NBA history, Thomas’ story highlights how highly regarded he was during their early basketball careers, when he stood at the very top of Bryant’s legendary competitive ‘kill list.’
