Kobe Bryant was not a friendly teammate. Described as an introvert by Shaquille O’Neal, he was rarely the kind of guy who liked to give his entire time to honing his basketball skills. In fact, much of the escalation between Bryant and Shaq was based on the Mamba’s inability to socialize and be there for his teammates. However, there was one player, long before Pau Gasol, that Kobe considered close to him. His affection for Mark Madsen was so much, that during one Christmas, Bryant, as a secret Santa, exceeded the team’s $100 limit to get Madsen two suits.
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Bryant’s relationship with his teammates wasn’t always the best. Especially when Shaquille O’Neal was on the team, Kobe remained distant from all his teammates. His inability to bond with them and their harshness towards the youngster only further increased the divide.
But unlike other Lakers, Madsen held a unique spot in Kobe’s life. He was a man that was appreciated by everyone and Kobe was no different. In his critically acclaimed book, Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of Lakers Dynasty, author Jeff Pearlman wrote briefly about the bond Mark and Kobe Bryant shared.
Kobe Bryant broke the Lakers’ $100 Christmas limit for Madsen
Pearlman’s book revealed the Lakers’ three-peat in extreme detail. The insight he provided about Bryant and his dynamics with the team remains a very valuable account.
One of the instances mentioned by Pearlman in his book included Kobe’s bond with the widely appreciated Madsen. Until then, Kobe had often been criticized by Shaq and his Laker entourage for being cold and distant.
However, the story of Mamba gifting Madsen 2 suits despite a $100 cap showed how fond the 6ft 6′ legend was of the player. He went out of his way to not only ensure the Lakers forward got good gifts but even picked them out for Mark himself.
Pearlman wrote: “In a world of 6.36 billion people, not a one disliked Madsen. He was polite, funny, quirky, endearing; a devout Mormon who had done his requisite missionary work on the Costa del Sol in Spain but never felt comfortable trying to sell his teammates on faith. Bryant—a man who considered few Homo sapiens worthy of his presence—enjoyed Madsen so much that, when it came time for the Lakers’ annual secret Santa gift, he exceeded the $100 maximum and bought the forward two suits.”
Kobe was deeply misunderstood by his Lakers teammates in the early 2000s
When Kobe came to the Lakers, he was barely an adult. But he still had that killer mentality that would later define his entire career. This attitude didn’t sit too well with many veterans who believed Kobe needed to be more accommodating of other players.
Their constant questioning and undermining left an already introverted Kobe recluse. The distance between him and the team increased to the point that it all finally led to the collapse of what could possibly have been the greatest team in history. Of course, O’Neal doesn’t deserve all of the blame for this. Both Kobe and Diesel played their part in adding fuel to a fire that burned the last true Lakers dynasty.
