It has been five years since Kobe Bryant’s unfortunate passing, yet his legacy burns as bright as ever. Of the countless players the Los Angeles Lakers legend played against, each one has a unique story about Bryant. Caron Butler is one of those. The former NBA Champ used his platform to highlight an iconic story featuring Bryant.
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Caron Butler played both with and against Kobe Bryant. And while playing with Kobe was no easy task, look at Jeremy Lin or Dwight Howard, but facing him was any day worse. His killer mentality made him an absolute disaster class matchup, and Butler posted a video on X showcasing just that.
“Kobe was just different!” Butler said in the caption, and he posted evidence to support his claim, which involved Andre Iguodala recalling a specific encounter with Bryant. Iggy revealed it was during his tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers. To be exact, it took place in the 2005-06 season.
“He told Louis Williams, ‘Tell Dre 50 tonight,'” Iguodala said. Those words are terrifying for any player, regardless of status. “I’m always ready to play against Kobe, so this will be a good matchup. I’m excited about it.”
Bryant had the utmost respect for Iguodala as a player. The young forward at the time took Bryant’s actions as a challenge. Unfortunately, Iguodala’s optimism didn’t translate to the court. Bryant fed off the Lakers’ home crowd and utterly dominated the Sixers.
“Six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, he has 49, and we’re down by like 20. He just subbed out. So, we got 49 with just 6 minutes to go,” Iguodala said.
Igoudala’s recollection of the story isn’t quite accurate since Bryant had 48 points in the game he is referring to. He did lead the Lakers to a massive 119-93 victory. Iguodala, nor any other Sixer, could find a way to stop Bryant. The five-time NBA champion would connect on seven three-pointers on as many attempts. That type of performance showed Iggy that there were levels in the NBA.
Butler couldn’t handle Bryant’s workouts
Butler may have shared Iguodala’s story, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his own. Typically, once a player signs for a massive contract, celebration preparations are on the horizon. Bryant had only one thing on his mind.
“During the press conference, Kobe signs for $135 million, and we’re on the left side, I’m on his left,” Butler said.
“Lamar [Odom] is like right here in the middle, and then Brian Grant is to the right. He signed the paper, he was like, ‘Hey, you ready to fu**ing black out’. That was the first thing, it wasn’t like, ‘I just got this 135, 36, woo, I’m good,’ It was like, ‘You ready to really work now?’ I was like, ‘what the fu** is a blackout?’” Butler wondered.
The blackout that Bryant was referring to had nothing to do with a power outage or a night out. Blackout was quite literal in the emotion players would feel after participating. “I get there next day, we like in the gym, two a days, just blacking out from a workout standpoint, like blacking out to the point where you can’t even function,” Butler added
Butler may have dreaded those gruelling training sessions, but they helped rewire how he views the game. The Lakers would trade Butler ahead of the following season, where he took those teachings from Bryant to become a two-time All-Star with the Washington Wizards.
