Sign of Greatness? The Story of How Kobe Bryant Agreed to Play Alongside Karl Malone Despite His Betrayal Off Court
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It is no secret that one of the most dominant centers in the game, Karl Malone, had a terrible personality. Off the court, he would get in all sorts of trouble. From calling out other players through the media to flirting with his teammates’ wives, nothing was off-limits for Malone.
When the Utah legend teamed up with Kobe Bryant in 2004, everyone was expecting severe friction and rightly so. Even though Malone played only one season for the Los Angeles Lakers, that was enough for him to create tension and thrash the team chemistry.
The 25 year-old Mamba can be seen talking about his relationship with the Jazz legend in the video. As usual, Kobe seems very professional in the beginning and says the incident is between him and Karl , and he doesn’t want it to be publicised. A little later in the interview, he gets more candid and speaks about his own reaction to the incident.
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How The Feud Between Kobe Bryant And Karl Malone Began
After a regular-season game at the Staples Center, Karl Malone had an inappropriate interaction with Kobe’s wife Vanessa. Karl Malone had allegedly flirted with the shooting guard’s wife saying: “I’m hunting for young Mexican girls.” This was enough to rub the Mamba in the wrong way. The two went back and forth and the media was ecstatic about the story.
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The 25 year-old Mamba can be seen talking about his relationship with the Jazz legend in the video. As usual, Kobe seems very professional in the beginning and says the incident is between him and Karl , and he doesn’t want it to be publicised. A little later in the interview, he gets more candid and speaks about his own reaction to the incident. Kobe says he just kept his mouth shut and came into practice the very next day. Kobe is seen getting a bit emotional as he says that he’s willing to take the high road and put the matter to sleep if that’s what it takes to win.
Karl Malone had been notorious for such incidents in the past but this was different. According to Kobe, he felt betrayed because he thought Malone “was like a mentor, as a brother” to him. Karl Malone retired after this season and sources say that he and Kobe did not reconcile with each other even as the 40-year-old Malone went into retirement.
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Beef Still Not Over?
In 2015, Karl was interviewed by the HuffPost Live, and the Jazz legend had this to say:
“I love Western. I’m old-school Western, Malone began. Back in the day when you had a beef, you didn’t go get guns or knives. You just ‘Hey Mark, I’ve got a problem.’ We’d just go in the back, no cameras, no nothing and let’s just knuckle up and get it over with.”
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This clearly indicates that Karl Malone still held a grudge against the fallen legend at the time of the interview. When Bryant and his daughter passed away earlier this year, Karl Malone offered his condolences to the Bryant family and said: “Kobe and Gianna you will never be forgotten.” Malone also added: “What a blessing to see the impact you have made in this world, Kobe,” It seems like Malone has finally made his peace with Kobe Bryant after all this time.
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