In a tension-filled regular season game during the 2005–06 season between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies, journeyman Mike Miller famously elbowed Kobe Bryant. The incident, which left viewers stunned, is still talked about today.
Advertisement
Miller was driving to the basket late in the fourth quarter, looking for a layup. But Kobe, determined to stop him from scoring, stepped up to defend. And Miller caught the Lakers legend with his left elbow. The blow forced Kobe, who had already racked up 45 points, to leave the floor and receive three stitches.
As expected, the incident immediately intensified the game’s atmosphere. Miller revisited the moment during a recent appearance on Podcast P with Paul George.
Miller, who is a highly respected basketball agent, explained that while the elbow looked bad, it was a genuine accident. “It was an unintentional elbow I hit him with, you know what I mean, like it was unintentional. It was just a basketball play,” he said.
Unfortunately, Kobe didn’t see it that way. After receiving his stitches, he returned to the floor and got his revenge — elbowing Miller in the throat as the forward attempted to cut to the basket on an out-of-bounds play. A dish best served cold?
Despite being nearly knocked unconscious, Miller, who finished the game with a 14-point, 15-rebound double-double, didn’t take the retaliation personally.
“[Even though] I didn’t like the fact that my team didn’t really have my back when he freaking took my jugular out but that’s what he’s supposed to do. He got me good,” said Miller.
NBA basketball was a different world back in 2005. The referees upgraded Kobe’s foul to a Flagrant Foul II after review, and the league suspended him for two games. The decision reflected the NBA’s late commissioner, David Stern’s, tough stance on violence, even among superstars.
Miller holds no grudges against Kobe, though. “He’s in heaven, he’s missed man like he was the best. I loved his competitiveness. We had a we had good conversation. I loved that competitive stuff,” he added.
In a conversation with the media a day after the clash against Memphis, Kobe admitted he was surprised not only by the suspension but also by its length.
“Very surprised. Shocked, actually. Very, very surprised. Angry and frustrated,” Kobe had said. “I’ve been hit with a couple of flagrant fouls already this year. I’ve been hit with a clothesline, and no suspensions come of that. And I get two games for this?”
Miller and Kobe eventually reconciled when the Lakers legend reached out during Miller’s free agency.
“I actually almost went [to the Lakers in] my free agency year [in 2010], when I went to Miami. I talked to Kobe multiple times, I talked to Phil [Jackson], and I almost went there because he was one of my favorites,” said Miller.
Miller and Bryant never became teammates. But the gesture showed mutual respect beyond their rivalry, rooted in the Lakers vs. Grizzlies clash.
Bryant’s legacy is filled with stories of physical and mental battles, which earned him the nickname the Black Mamba. This tense moment on that December evening in 2005 with Miller captures the raw emotion that partly defined Kobe’s career. It also explains why he remains an icon of competitive spirit.
The Memphis Grizzlies and LA Lakers rivalry produced many dramatic chapters, with the Miller-Bryant showdown standing out as a defining example of the fierce NBA battles of the mid-2000s.
