Joakim Noah EXPOSES Kobe Bryant’s petty reaction to LeBron James’ impressive slam dunk
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Kobe Bryant and LeBron James
It’s no secret that Kobe Bryant was competitive. Joakim Noah recently revealed the depths of Kobe’s competitive nature and the lengths to which he would go to prove his dominance. In an appearance on JJ Redick’s podcast, Noah discussed a story about Kobe Bryant’s reaction to an impressive dunk by LeBron James and it’s a tale that reveals just how petty Kobe could be.
Then-president Barack Obama had invited a bunch of NBA players to the white house for his birthday. Once there, the players and the president naturally played some pick-up games which turned competitive. Joakim Noah, recalled the incident when he found out the true extent of Kobe Bryant’s pettiness.
“So I’m sitting next to Kobe,” Noah said, “LeBron gets a steal. He’s on the break. So obviously, when LeBron catches the ball on the break, it’s a sight to see. Everybody’s watching like, ‘What is he gonna do?’ And I just remember, Kobe turns around and starts talking to me about something completely he didn’t even want to acknowledge the dunk. I was like, ‘Okay, I know I’m sick, but this guy is sick as hell, too. This guy won’t even acknowledge.’ That said a lot to me… He didn’t want the visual of him watching LeBron dunk. He didn’t want that picture of him looking.”
We all know the way Kobe Bryant was wired competitively, the ‘Mamba Mentality’ is now a pop culture term. This reveal by former Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah is just another one in a collection of countless tales that will carry on the legend of the Black Mamba.
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Another story of Kobe Bryant being petty out of competitiveness
Andre Iguodala was one of the premier defenders in the NBA in his prime. He has many iconic performances to his name and even won the 2015 NBA Finals MVP for his defense against LeBron James. During Kobe’s jersey retirement ceremony, Iggy told the story of when the Mamba straight-up told him how many points he was gonna score.
“He came to our locker room,” Iguodala said, “And he was like, ‘Where’s Dre?’ And I was on the court working out, getting ready for the game.” So he told Louis Williams: “Tell Dre 50 tonight. So six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, uh… he had 49.” The context to this is that a few weeks prior to this game, the Lakers had played the 76ers (the team Iguodala was on at the time) and Andre had held Kobe to a low-scoring game and won the matchup.
This story shows just how petty Kobe Bryant could be. Throughout his career, Kobe was known for his laser focus on winning and often let his emotions get the best of him. This type of behavior was common for Kobe, and it’s a testament to his greatness that he was able to channel that energy in a positive way and lead his team to victory so many times.
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Ritik Malik
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