“Tell Him 50 Tonight”: Andre Iguodala Recalls Kobe Bryant Barging into Sixers Locker Room with a Pre-Game Declaration

Kobe Bryant didn’t like it when an opposition defender locked him during the course of a game. What he didn’t like more was people talking about it. So the Mamba had to put out a statement when Lakers head coach Phil Jackson started talking about Andre Iguodala, a Philadelphia 76er at the time, locking him down with the best defensive performance of his career.

Kobe was restricted to 17 points on an abysmal 7-27 shooting display. To add insult to injury, the game was in the Lakers superstar’s hometown, Philadelphia.

As one can expect, the Black Mamba sought revenge. But he made matters much more interesting by prophesizing his performance beforehand.

“He [Kobe] came in the locker room and told Lou Williams and the whole team, I was on the court shooting, he walked in there and said ‘Where Dre [Iguodala] at?’’” Iguodala said on Mark Jackson’s podcast.

“So he marked that date on his calendar, he walked in locker room was like ‘yo, tell him 50 tonight’… Kobe left the game with like six minutes to go, he had 49, so he had 50. We get blown,” Iggy added.

There is one small inaccuracy in the former two-way player’s story. Bryant finished the night with 48 points, instead of 49, in the Lakers’ 119-93 win. Nevertheless, the second-year Philly player figured out that he poked the bear without even passing any comments.

Even though he learned from his mistakes and never spoke trash to Bryant, guarding the legendary shooting guard became a difficult task for Iguodala since then.

Iguodala found it easier to guard LeBron James than Bryant

Iguodala was always among the best defensive players on each team that he was a part of. Due to that, guarding the opposition’s best player became a norm for him.

Bryant and LeBron James are the two of the best offensive players that Iguodala has faced across his career. In 2019, Iggy revealed the striking differences in defending both,

“He (LeBron) enhances all of his teammates like no other player I’ve ever seen. But LeBron is able to do that and get 30 points, which makes you scared to help. You’re kind of on an island with him. But overall, Kobe Bryant was the hardest I had to guard.”

Statistically, Kobe scored fewer points than LBJ when facing Iguodala. But it is important to note that Dre was awarded the 2015 Finals MVP primarily for his stellar defensive performance against Bron.