Kobe Bryant had his share of encounters against players who loved to talk trash. Even though the Los Angeles Lakers legend never shied away from talking back, he preferred to respond with his play.
Nate Robinson once got ahead of himself during a hot shooting night against the Lakers. Excited about what was happening on the floor, he couldn’t keep quiet when Kobe was guarding him.
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“‘Oh wee. I got Bean on me,’ I said. ‘Oh yeah.’ And I pulled up a shot off [Bryant] and hit it. He was like, ‘Alright,'” Robinson said on The Straight Game podcast.
Nate paid dearly for trash-talking Kobe
Robinson and Bryant ended up trading baskets for the rest of the night, but with the game on the line, Kobe came through for his team, hitting a key basket to lead L.A. to a win over New York.
It was his turn to talk smack to Robinson. But instead, Bryant turned it into a lesson.
“We was going bucket for bucket like the whole game. And then at the end of the game, he made a bucket to end the game and they won,” Nate recalled. “He slapped me in the a*s and was like, ‘That’s how you do it, young fella.'”
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Robinson did not specify when the game took place. But based on his words, he was probably referring to the Lakers’ 116-114 victory on December 17, 2008, at Staples Center.
Robinson had a game-high 33 points. Bryant, meanwhile, dropped 28 for the purple and gold, leading them to a victory after a second-half comeback.
Robinson considered Kobe an MJ incarnate
Nate — and everyone in the Association — knew about Kobe’s explosive scoring potential. That’s why talking trash wasn’t his best move.
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If he forgot, Bryant made sure to remind him about it by erupting for a game-high 61 points in the Lakers’ 126-117 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 2, 2009.
Robinson detailed how focused Kobe was in that game, admitting he looked a lot like Michael Jordan but with a different jersey.
“The fadeaway, the way he walked, chewed gum, he looked just like Michael Jordan. Spitting image. The way he ran and the way he just wanted to kill whoever was in front of him. I’m like, ‘Bro, that’s MJ right there,'” Robinson stated.
What led to Bryant’s explosion in one of the most iconic basketball venues in the world? Andrew Bynum’s knee injury.
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“Going into New York, big game, I said, I gotta send a message to my guys and say, ‘No, listen. We’re doing this. I understand it’s hard; he went down. But damn it, we’re getting it done,'” Bryant explained.
Kobe’s tactics worked — months later, the Lakers won the NBA championship after defeating the Orlando Magic in five games. Bynum only played 95 minutes throughout the series, but that didn’t matter. The Lakers knew they had what it took to win, and they proved it on the court.
It all started with Bryant’s iconic performance at MSG. Robinson, who had 13 points in 27 minutes, probably didn’t say something to the Lakers legend that night.