“Ruben Patterson aka ‘The Kobe Bryant stopper’ was torched’: When the Lakers legend took revenge on Blazers star and made him eat his words
Ruben Patterson made a dangerous play for himself when he dubbed himself as the ‘Kobe Stopper’, claiming he could shut down Kobe Bryant.
Kobe Bryant didn’t face too many foes in his career, being able to dominate on any given night with his killer mentality. Of course, Kobe is best known for his scoring prowess, but he was also a very capable defender and an underrated passer.
Ruben Patterson never quite enjoyed the career Kobe did, but he was known for being a pretty solid defensive stopper, and that was something he took a lot of pride in, maybe too much pride.
Nine years ago today, Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles.
After struggling to get back up, he limped to the free-throw line and sunk 2 clutch free throws in the fourth quarter 🐍
Mamba Mentality 💜💛
(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/sRbyHkDdWR
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 12, 2022
His confidence in his defense reached dangerous levels, and as Icarus found, flying too close to the sun didn’t work out for the former Blazers forward.
Kobe Bryant proceeded to destroy Ruben Patterson, “The Kobe Stopper”
Touted for his great defensive ability, Patterson was always seen as a crucial role player for the Portland Trailblazers in the early 2000s. However, things got a bit too much when he labelled himself as the Kobe stopper.
Of course, The Black Mamba doesn’t mis anything, and he even offered Patterson a chance to hype himself up in a different way. However, enough was enough, and eventually Kobe decided that “Patterson had to be torched.”
In a game against the Trailblazers, Kobe Bryant went off for 37 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, drilling two incredible threes right over Patterson, asserting his dominance.
Kobe was the definition of clutch.
17 years ago, the Mamba hit TWO impossible buzzer-beaters vs “Kobe-Stopper” Ruben Patterson and the Blazers (via @Lakers) pic.twitter.com/2j9BuTEL5r
— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) April 14, 2021
There truly was no Kobe stopper back in the day, and Patterson labelling himself as such just added more fuel to the fire. It was a nightmare waiting to happen, and Kobe made sure to show him what the ramifications were of making such a statement.
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