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Kobe Bryant’s Former Teammate Felt Disrespected as Victim of Infamous Incident

Published 02/25/2024, 8:11 AM EST

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The feud between Kobe Bryant and Smush Parker is well-known. However, the matter sought more attention, when Parker revisited the situation in one of his recent interviews. He revealed how his former teammate, Bryant never spoke to him in the duration of 2 years, he spent with the Lakers. Furthermore, he was turned down when he tried to socialize with him.

“The man (Kobe) never spoke to me…I was his co-worker. Like we shared a cubicle side-by-side. How do you do that for two seasons and never hold a conversation?” shared Parker previously. Just recently, in an interview with DJ Vlad, Parker once again detailed how he felt about the incident and Bryant’s comment. “I felt small, felt a little disrespected,” said Parker about that incident.

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The two talked about the time when Parker tried to start a conversation with Bryant but was immediately turned down with tough words. While he tried to have a simple conversation, Bryant responded that he couldn’t talk to him until he had enough accolades to match him. According to Parker, these were the Los Angeles Lakers legend’s words, “You can’t talk to me. You need more accolades under your belt before you talk to me.” However, there is much more to the story. As Parker previously revealed during his appearance in “Pablo Torres Finds Out,” their beef didn’t end there.

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READ MORE: 23 Years Before Kobe Bryant’s Work Ethic Impressed Him, 3x All-Star Shares a Freaky Coincidence With ‘Black Mamba’

Smush Parker believes his particular action provoked Kobe Bryant

Parker stated that Bryant probably wasn’t impressed with how he revealed the entire locker-room situation to the public. So, when Bryant got the next opportunity, he decided to take his revenge for it. Nearly five years after Parker revealed the story, the Lakers star stated in an interview that Parker lacked skills and shouldn’t be part of the NBA. “Smush Parker was the worst…He shouldn’t have been in the NBA, but we were too cheap to pay for a point guard. We let him walk on,” shared Bryant in the interview.

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Bryant is known for his cold demeanor and for delivering sharp criticism when needed. It was still a very unusual comment, however. Do you think Parker is right about his opinion? What are your thoughts on Bryant’s harsh criticism of his former teammates? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Written by:

Pritha Debroy

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Pritha is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. After reporting on the luxurious lifestyle of celebrities for a year, she used that experience to cover the glamor side of the basketball world. She has expertly covered Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan's complicated love story and the lavish vacations of NBA superstars, among other off-court scoops.
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Edited by:

Caroline Joseph