“I Got 5 More Than You”: When Kobe Bryant Silenced James Harden’s Trash-Talking With the Cold Truth

Talking trash to Kobe Bryant was considered a death sentence for most, but James Harden somehow managed to escape the clutches of the Black Mamba, as the Beard once trash-talked to No.24 and even got the last laugh in the end.

The entire fiasco kicked off during the 2012 NBA playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena between the Los Angeles Lakers and The Oklahoma City Thunder. With Kobe and the Lakers coming off back-to-back NBA Finals appearances, there was definitely a target on Kobe going into the contest. The matchup proved to be a one-sided affair with the Lakers having no answer for the three-headed serpent from Oklahoma.

During the final two minutes of the game, with the score at 81-94, Harden buried a 3 and started talking trash to Bryant, something that didn’t sit well with the 32-year-old Kobe. But the Black Mamba didn’t remain quiet, as Kobe retaliated to James’s trash-talk by reminding Harden of his championship legacy, pointing out how he had 5 more rings than he and Durant combined.

A clip of the incident was recently posted on X by user @Legendz_nba, where Bryant can be heard saying,

“Gas him up! Aye, man, you talking sh*t now, I’m a professional sh*t talker, he can’t talk sh*t to me. Huh? Good, I got five more rings than you.”

But Harden got his revenge for Kobe’s trash talk when the Thunders met the Lakers yet again in the Western Conference playoffs. This time around, the tables turned around, as OKC had matured, and the Lakers were on the back end of their run as a two-time championship roster.

It turned out to be sweet revenge as the Thunder rolled past the Purple and Gold en route to their first Finals appearance in franchise history—they beat the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Miami Heat in five games in the championship series.