“He was throwing Gatorade bottles!” Lakers trainer recalls Kobe Bryant saying ‘f**k Paul Pierce’ after being offered wheelchair for Achilles tear

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“He was throwing Gatorade bottles!” Lakers trainer recalls Kobe Bryant saying ‘f**k Paul Pierce’ after being offered wheelchair for Achilles tear

Kobe Bryant had a visceral reaction when offered a wheelchair after tearing his Achilles (image via Los Angeles Lakers/X)

NBA legend Kobe Bryant was one of a kind. His competitiveness is already folklore among the basketball faithful. The Los Angeles Lakers great had a visceral reaction even when he was down with a torn Achilles during a game. When offered a wheelchair, he remembered the beating he and the Lakers received at the hands of Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce. Pierce had left the game in a wheelchair, came back and put up his best performance in the NBA Finals to beat the Lakers.

Sportskeeda interviewed then-Lakers trainer Gary Vitti about his time with the Lakers legend. He was asked about what his best memory of Bryant’s competitiveness is to play through injury. Vitti remembered the torn Achilles incident quoting Bryant’s words;

F--- Paul Pierce!
Gary Vitti remembered Kobe Bryant’s words

Bryant uttered these words when Vitti offered the Lakers legend a wheelchair. Such was his competitive spirit that even though he knew his season was over, the wheelchair reminded him of that game.

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Vitti added that after the foul which led to the injury, Bryant was told that either he had to shoot the free throws or Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson would choose their worst free throw shooter. Bryant responded to this by saying that he would shoot the free throws. Bryant downed both free throws after limping back to the line.

While in the treatment room, Vitti mentioned that Bryant was so enraged about his injury that he was throwing Gatorade bottles across the room. Bryant was playing lights out trying to get the Lakers to the playoffs. So, for him to go down in the 80th game of the season was devastating.

Kobe Bryant and his competitive edge are basketball folklore

Kobe Bryant’s competitiveness was so evident that after the injury, his eyes were red from the tears he shed as he came out of the locker room in crutches. Almost at age 35 and staring at possibly a career-ending injury devastated the ultra-competitive Bryant. Teammates mentioned that Bryant’s face looked as if a part of him had died.

Kobe Bryant went down tearing his Achilles, went to the bench, came back and shot both free throws before exiting the game
Kobe Bryant went down tearing his Achilles, went to the bench, came back, and shot both free throws before exiting the game (image via Los Angeles Lakers/X)

But Bryant drove himself back. Recovering after surgery in eight months from that injury is not easy. His drive brought him back. He wanted to play and win which happens to be the only thing he knew. Bryant shocked everyone with the speed of his recovery.

To this day, Bryant’s torn Achilles free throws is remembered as a great moment. Now we know his mindset behind that drive.

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