Shane Battier has played against the best of the best in the NBA in his 13-year-long career. During a recent interview, the two-time NBA Champ recounted an epic story of guarding Kobe Bryant as a young rookie. Battier couldn’t help but laugh at how Kobe managed to take him to school in the game despite being just two weeks older than him.
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Battier was coming off four years of playing at Duke. The Blue Devils veteran wasn’t ready for the NBA just yet, and Kobe Bryant, who had skipped college for his pro debut, made him realize that. Describing his experience on the Knuckleheads Podcast, Battier said, “My rookie year…I learned what Kobe Island is. Kobe Island is, you’re guarding Kobe Bryant and you turn around and you have no help on defense. You are on an island. It’s a lonely place to be.”
“I didn’t know how to guard him [Kobe]-I learned later on. He scored 63 on me in three quarters! The Lakers were good, they were beating us so badly, that he didn’t even play in the fourth quarter. He for sure would have had 80. For sure, without a doubt!” Battier added.
The game that Battier was referring to on the podcast was none other than the January, 2002 game the Lakers played against the Memphis Grizzlies, where Kobe scored 56 points to take the Lakers to a 120-81 victory. Kobe had to hit the gas pedal that game as Shaq was sitting out for a suspension. Shaq’s suspension came after an altercation with Brad Miller while playing against The Bulls. Many critics were pessimistic about the Lakers with Shaq out, but a young Kobe completely took off.
Battier had just been drafted by the Grizzlies after his long stint in Duke. He had his ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment with Kobe, who was about the same age as him.
Kobe Bryant gave Battier a tough welcome to the NBA
The fateful game in question took place on 14th January, 2002 in Staples Centre. What most people forget is that Battier and Kobe were only a few weeks apart in age. But for a young rookie to guard Kobe wasn’t a wise choice, regardless of the age.
Kobe scored 56 points in just 34 minutes of playtime. The Lakers star would go 21-34 from the field and 3-6 from deep. With Battier guarding Kobe for most of the game, he didn’t have much to respond with. The Grizzlies rookie finished with six points on 2 for 9 shooting, possibly the worst performance we have ever seen from Battier.
Shane Battier and Kobe Bryant had a weird relationship and Battier even talked about it during the podcast. Still shaken by the passing of Kobe, the Duke legend talked about how he and Kobe would play mind games with each other. Battier would always play the humble card so as not to ignite Kobe’s ego, and Kobe knew that. The false sense of humility agitated the Mamba, as the two players battled it out for the next decade, until Battier retired in 2014.
