Very few players in the NBA could match the level of mental toughness that the late, great Kobe Bryant had. The five-time NBA champion produced several such moments throughout his career, but none comes close to his 2013 Achilles injury. During a conversation with Mark Medina in February, Gary Vitti detailed his conversation with Black Mamba after he ruptured his Achilles and ended up cursing Paul Pierce for his 2008 wheelchair incident.
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On April 12, 2013, during their game against the Golden State Warriors, Kobe attempted to drive around Harrison Barnes but was fouled and ended up on the ground.
He was seen holding onto the back of his ankle in immense pain. This injury could have been the result of a long and exhausting schedule as it was the 80th game for the Lakers and as expected, Kobe did the heavy lifting throughout the season.
On this date in 2013, Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles … and he still made the free throws. pic.twitter.com/4qVLOQJcgO
— ESPN (@espn) April 13, 2018
After that incident, Vitti had a short conversation with Kobe where the Lakers superstar asked him to figure out a temporary solution that could allow him to stay in the game. However, the head trainer knew that even simply walking with an Achilles injury could make things worse.
Regardless, he allowed Kobe to shoot the free throws, “Make or miss, we’re going to foul and get you out of the game and bring you back to the trainer’s room.” It was obvious that the season was over for Kobe, and he knew it.
Lakers trainer Gary Vitti remembers when Kobe tore his Achilles, made both free throws and started to walk off the court:
"I asked him if he wanted a chair. He looked down at me and said, ‘F— Paul Pierce!"
Via @MarkG_Medina pic.twitter.com/pWIyhKzHkp
— Kobe Bryant Stories & Motivation (@kobehighlight) June 21, 2024
Despite the seriousness of his injury, Kobe walked up and down the floor twice to shoot his free throws and then walked into the locker room.
Vitti recalled asking the Mamba if he needed a chair inside the trainer’s room so he could rest, he said, “He looked down at me and said, f**k Paul Pierce.” Kobe was referring to the infamous 2008 Finals incident where the Celtics legend was escorted out in a wheelchair.
The Paul Pierce wheelchair incident
During the third quarter of the game, Pierce went down with an apparent knee injury. After that, he was taken out in a wheelchair. Now, there have been several versions of the story, including the rumor about Pierce faking an injury to poop. In fact, in 2019, he even co-signed the rumors and said that it was indeed true. However, he has also denied it on several occasions.
"I just had to go to a bathroom."@paulpierce34 admits the only reason he left the 2008 Finals in a wheelchair was to go to the bathroom 😂 pic.twitter.com/oIUXgzDzT7
— ESPN (@espn) June 6, 2019
During an appearance on ESPN in 2019, he said, “I have a confession to make. I just had to go to the bathroom. I had to go the bathroom.” When asked why he decided to sit in a wheelchair for that, Pierce said “something went down, I had to go to the restroom.” Unfortunately, that’s not the end of the story. Regardless, the wheelchair incident holds a special place in the NBA’s history.
