Kobe Bryant once explained how his ‘worst’ teammate “shouldn’t have been in the NBA”.
Bryant is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time and is often mentioned in the GOAT conversation alongside the likes of Michael Jordan, Steph Curry and LeBron James.
And given his obvious talent, he expected high standards from his teammates and was not afraid to call them out when he felt it was needed.
This was the case when he supposedly told a player, ‘You can’t talk to me,’ despite the pair playing in the same team at the LA Lakers for two seasons.
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The man in question is Smush Parker who made 164 appearances throughout the 2005/06 and 2006/07 seasons.
Bryant, who died in January 2020, slammed Parker, 43, when speaking to the LA Times in 2012.
"Smush Parker was the worst," said Bryant.
“He shouldn’t have been in the NBA, but we were too cheap to pay for a point guard. We let him walk on."
Unsurprisingly, Parker was keen give his take on the pair's strained relationship when he spoke on Pablo Torre Finds Out in 2023.
"The man never spoke to me," Parker said. "I wasn't the 12th man on the bench. I wasn't the call-up from the G League who was just filling a roster spot. I started with this man. I was his co-worker. Like we shared a cubicle side-by-side. How do you do that for two seasons and never hold a conversation?"
The 43-year-old even claimed that Bryant said 'You can't talk to me' after he tried to strike up a conversation after a game.
"He looked at me, honestly, looked at me and said, 'You can't talk to me, you need more accolades under your belt before you come talk to me,'" Parker recalled.
"He was dead serious. ... So that set the tone. Never spoke to him again, or tried to, for two years—as the starting point guard."
Parker went on to explain how the problems "end and start" with Bryant, which left him questioning how a team is supposed to be successful if players don't communication.
Topics: Kobe Bryant, NBA, Basketball, LA Lakers
Luke Davies