In every team sport, there are a few traditions that hold their place, no matter what day and age. One of them is the rookie dinner and the rookie hazing. It is a very common occurrence that helps build a bond between the newly signed rookie and the other teammates. Recently, we saw clips of Pacers’ rookie Jarace Walker and his $8,685 bill floated around by Tyrese Haliburton. This led to another incident resurfacing. Back in 2022, Chandler Parsons revealed how Kobe Bryant had helped him out with a $22,000 tab in Los Angeles.
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As the teams get together for training camp and media day, they start getting to know each other. There would be celebrations about new contracts, personal celebrations, and more. On top of that, we’ll also get to see more rookie dinner footage like the one Jarace Walker had.
Kobe Bryant got rookie Chandler Parsons into The Supper Club and footed his bill
Back in 2011, Parsons was selected as the 38th pick by the Houston Rockets. In 2022, he went on Matt Barnes’ All The Smoke and shared a Kobe story. During his first encounter in Los Angeles, Parsons was given the job of guarding Kobe Bryant. Although he was warned about the Mamba, Parsons saw a whole different side of Kobe out there.
Bryant asked Parsons if the team was staying overnight, and hooked him up with a reservation at the Supper Club. The text he got read,
“You’re all set at the Supper Club – Mamba”
Initially, he thought he was being messed with. Parsons ended up inviting his teammates, coaches, trainers, and everyone else. When the cheque finally arrived, it read $22,000. The waitress asked him to sign for Kobe Bryant, and he signed Kobe Bryant on the bill.
From being known as a harda** to having a soft side to himself, there were a lot of versions of Kobe Bryant. I guess it just depended on who you were to see which side of the Mamba would you unlock.
Jerry Buss put Kobe off-limits for rookie hazing
Back in 1996, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant joined the Lakers at the same time. The only difference was that Kobe was coming in as a rookie and Shaq was coming in from Orlando as a superstar. Known for his ways, one could not even fathom what Shaq had in store as rookie hazing for the teen Kobe.
However, nothing of the sort took place. During an interview with VladTV, Gilbert Arenas shared how Jerry Buss protected Kobe,
“When Kobe got drafted, Jerry Buss told Shaq and the Lakers ‘he’s off limits, you cannot haze him. There’s no rookie hazing him. F*ck off’… That’s the type of future they seen in him, protecting him all the time”.
Even though Shaq couldn’t get his way with Kobe, that did not save the other rookies. Gary Payton revealed how Shaq once dumped a bucket of excreta on a rookie as part of his ‘hazing.’
It’s a good thing Jerry Buss stopped Shaq and the others in their tracks, or else the duo might not have made it to their three-peat in the early 2000s.
