The late, great Kobe Bryant wasn’t easy to get along with, especially in his younger days. The Black Mamba had a reputation as arguably the fiercest competitor because of which, he had several on-court battles after he stepped foot in the NBA world. While most of the battles strictly remained within the realm of basketball, some even resulted in physical altercations. One such fight that Kobe had with Chris Childs, in 2000, helped him get closer to his teammates.
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In April 2000, the LA Lakers were facing the New York Knicks. In the fourth quarter of the game, Shaquille O’Neal was going for a shot. In the background, Childs was guarding Kobe and in the blink of an eye, the two went into a fistfight.
The situation got heated before anyone could get a grasp of what’s happening on the court. After a close analysis of the footage, both players were fined and suspended. Childs received a tw0-game suspension with a $15,000 fine whereas Kobe was suspended for one game and had to pay a $5000 fine.
Miraculously, this brawl brought the Lakers legend closer to his teammates, even though he was “not embraceable”. Further, Childs likes to take credit for helping the team get “unified” with their star player. Jeff Pearlman talked about the incident and Childs’ claim in his book ‘Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty’. He wrote,
“Bryant was suspended one game and fined $5,000, and it was well worth the cost. He would never be fully embraced, for he was not embraceable. But as the Lakers headed toward the playoffs, they were—at long last—unified”.
Years after the fight, Childs said, “Thanks to me. Me and my stupid temper”, taking credit for bringing the Mamba and his teammates closer. Bryant grew up in Italy, moving from one city to another because his father used to play basketball in the Italian league. Growing up in that environment made him accustomed to being all by himself, all the time. This habit continued even after he became a household name. In his 20-year-long career in the NBA, he made only four friends.
Kobe Bryant was a closed-book
The 4-time NBA Champion was also a great mentor and a role model among many other things. One thing that the Mamba acknowledged that he wasn’t, was being a great friend to someone. In a GQ interview, Bryant said, “Being a “great friend” is something I will never be. I can be a good friend. But not a great friend”.
Infamous for not getting along very well with his teammates, he managed to make a lifelong friend in Caron Butler. During a FAIR GAME interview, Butler revealed how he was able to make his way into Kobe Bryant’s heart.
He said, “I just think that as men, like we compete and you obviously compete and play for the respect of your peers and when he saw that I had no back down in me and I wanted to be a better version of myself, I think he kind of just gravitated towards me and I accepted that with open arms because I wanted to learn from the best”.
It’s great that Kobe and Butler could find common ground. Because in a world where Kobe’s achievements and greatness are endless, this aspect of his life is often overlooked.
