"Lue must be paid from that account because I don't remember any of that s–t" - Robert Horry debunks Ty Lue's story about Kobe Bryant challenging newcomers to one-on-one

Having shared the court in his first three NBA seasons with Kobe Bryant, Tyronn Lue recently recalled how the Los Angeles Lakers legend had a habit of challenging every newcomer to a one-on-one game to send a message off the bat. While that story painted Bryant’s leadership in a fierce, almost mythical light, Robert Horry stepped in to set the record straight.

Horry rebuts Lue’s Kobe story

Horry joined the Lakers in January 1997, the same season Bryant became an All-Star for the first time in his career. During the rest of his Los Angeles stint, Horry witnessed firsthand Bryant’s rise to superstardom — he established himself as an All-NBA and All-Defensive First Team player and was recognized by most as one of the best individuals in the Association.

But Horry also witnessed Bryant clashing with Shaquille O’Neal, despite the two leading the Lakers to three straight championships from 2000 to 2002.

During those years, with the organization constantly looking for ways to stay in contention, many veterans joined the roster to help Bryant and O’Neal win titles — Glen Rice, John Salley, Isaiah Rider and Ron Harper are among the names who signed with the Lakers.

Lue, a member of those Lakers teams, shared that Bryant had a special initiation rite for every veteran who joined the organization during that span.

“Every time we got a new player — Glen Rice — and Glen Rice was a bad dude, Kobe wanted to play him one-on-one to show him, like, ‘This is my team.’ We got J.R. Rider, same thing. J.R. Rider got there; he wanted to play him one-on-one, show him, ‘This is my team.’ That’s just who he was,” Lue said.

However, Horry denied any veteran player being subjected to such one-on-one challenges from a young Bryant. After all, the Lakers weren’t his team at that point in his career.

“Ty Lue must be… he must’ve been getting paid from that account because I don’t remember any of that s–t. He might’ve played Devin, he might’ve played him, but he didn’t play no vets because vets don’t do that s–t,” Horry said on his “Big Shot Bob” podcast. “Kobe always wanted to play one-on-one with people, but it wasn’t like, ‘It was a challenge! Oh, it’s my team,’ ’cause we knew it wasn’t his team; it was Shaq’s team.”

Fact-checking Lue

Horry and Lue were with the Lakers during the three-peat years. In fact, Robert stayed with the team for two more seasons after Tyronn’s departure.

That’s why he plans to call Lue directly to fact-check the story, given that, as far as he remembers, such one-on-one games never happened, at least not when he was in the practice facility.

“All this s–t might’ve happened before I got to practice,” Horry concluded with a subtle smile. “I either got to practice early; if I didn’t get there early, I left late.”

Ultimately, this contrast between accounts highlights how former players sometimes unintentionally inflate legacies by exaggerating stories or creating narratives that never really happened.

Nevertheless, to his credit, Horry still expressed deep respect for Bryant’s competitive fire, recognizing him as one of the greatest players in NBA history. That’s something he and Lue agreed on.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“Lue must be paid from that account because I don’t remember any of that s–t” – Robert Horry debunks Ty Lue’s story about Kobe Bryant challenging newcomers to one-on-one

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