Kobe Bryant was one of the fiercest competitors in NBA history. As such, it should come as little surprise that, at the height of Linsanity, he wasn’t willing to give an inch to Jeremy Lin ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers’ battle against the New York Knicks.
In the lead-up to that outing, Bryant was asked about Lin specifically. At the time, the Harvard star was setting the league on fire with his play.
Bryant shrugged Lin’s heroics off, saying he hadn’t even heard about him.
According to former Knicks head coach, Mike D’Antoni, that comment stuck with Lin. He went on to drop 38 points and led his squad to a victory over L.A.
This week, during an appearance on JJ Redick’s The Old Man & The Three podcast, D’Antoni told an interesting story about Lin and Bryant.
Another great moment. Apparently Lin had planned to clap back at Kobe Bryant after the MSG game but punted last minute pic.twitter.com/rzzwcniXvb
— TheOldMan&TheThree (@OldManAndThree) April 12, 2022
“Jeremy had this thing planned that he was going to say, ‘Well, I guess Kobe knows who’s my name is now.’ He didn’t have the balls, guts to do that. He punted. He punted, but he really wanted to say that,” D’Antoni said.
That would have been quite the moment.
Bryant and Lin had a fascinating relationship. The pair became teammates on the Lakers later on in the latter’s career, and they went four months without speaking.
Understandably, that left quite the impression on Lin.
Over the past year a lot of interesting information has come out regarding Bryant.
Some has been pretty humorous like when he admitted who would win a 1-on-1 showdown between him and LeBron James, and his epic 2008 Olympic war stories.
No wonder Drake hates the Grizzlies this year. https://t.co/ShUpgfaweQ
— Game 7 (@game7__) April 16, 2022
Some has been tragic, like when Michael Jordan revealed his last text exchange with Bryant or Pau Gasol opened up about the two sides of his good friend.
But in all scenarios – they’re all welcome details. Bryant left fans too soon, and any tidbits that they get about him are always a treat.
Related: James Harden’s 1 Major Regret About Kevin Durant, Nets
Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
