“I would never use the word ‘tank’ and ‘Kobe’ in the same sentence” – Alvin Gentry shuts down claims that Kobe Bryant quit in Game 7 vs. Suns originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Kobe Bryant took a lot of heat for supposedly quitting on the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2006 playoffs, but Alvin Gentry saw it differently. Then the Phoenix Suns assistant coach, Gentry believed the Lakers were simply overmatched, and Bryant was trying to explore other ways to keep them in the game.
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“Kobe is not a guy who has ever tanked anything,” Gentry said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I don’t see him as doing that. We played a great game that night and were able to win. I don’t see him as a guy who would ever go there. I would never use the word ‘tank’ and ‘Kobe’ in the same sentence.”
The Suns successfully climbed out of a 3-1 hole after Bryant’s early-series heroics. The Purple and Gold never saw a chance in Game 7 as Phoenix raced to a 32-17 lead in the first 12 minutes. It was more of the same the rest of the way and the West’s number two-seed eventually blew out the seven-seed, 121-90.
On-air comments may have influenced the narrative
There was no denying Black Mamba’s individual brilliance in the series, especially how he did the whole season. That was the year he torched the Toronto Raptors with 81, two weeks after outscoring the Dallas Mavericks through three quarters, 62-61.
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For the Lakers to have a chance to win on most nights, he had to go all out. Kobe attempted an absurd 27.2 shots per contest in the regular season en route to a league-leading 35.4 points per game. In Game 6 of the first-round series against the Suns, Bryant dropped 50 on 35 attempts in a losing effort.
That’s why, as Bryant looked to get his teammates involved during the third quarter of Game 7, the live broadcast openly questioned why he had suddenly gone away from his typically aggressive scoring approach.
“When is Kobe going to start becoming aggressive?” Doug Collins asked, with 5:23 to go in the third and the Lakers down 20.
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His broadcast partner, Kevin Harlan, replied: “You would think any moment.”
From that point forward, the pair repeatedly pointed out Bryant’s lack of shot attempts. Collins observed that the five-time champ was not looking for shots, noted his overall field goal attempts in Game 6 compared to Game 7, and mentioned that he attempted just three shots in the entire second half.
It was clear that Collins and Harlan’s commentary, while factual, started the avalanche of criticism. Once that narrative took root on national television, it quickly spread beyond the game. Suddenly, instead of being seen as a player trying to adapt to a hopeless situation, Bryant was painted as someone making a statement — or worse, giving up.
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Lost in all the “Kobe quit” talks
As McMenamin wrote, the loss was hardly on Bryant or his teammates. The Lakers had no business going toe-to-toe with the two-seed, and if the Suns were fully healthy, it would have been over earlier.
The quality of the teams was apparent right from the outset of Game 7. The Suns had multiple deadly weapons coming off their bench. Leandro Barbosa outscored the entire Lakers reserves by himself, 26-21, as Tim Thomas and Eddie House added 21 more. Phoenix went 10-for-21 from deep and made a scorching-hot 61 percent of their attempts from the floor.
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The idea that Kobe quit ignores the broader context of that Lakers team’s limitations. He was grasping for solutions against a clearly superior squad. Gentry’s take might not change minds, but it adds necessary nuance to a moment too easily reduced to a headline.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 29, 2025, where it first appeared.