Kobe Bryant hilariously reminds us how he demanded the ball in the clutch
One of the downsides to Kobe Bryant's final NBA season is the fact that the player who spent an entire career being an on-court killer has now become universally beloved. Bryant is all smiles as he visits arenas for the very last time, and has been as gracious as possible to fans as they show up to celebrate one of the game's all-time greats.
But Bryant didn't always used to be like this. He was arguably the most competitive and most polarizing player of his generation, and didn't hesitate to say things that would rub opponents or teammates the wrong way.
At an event in Los Angeles on Tuesday, we got a brief glimpse of the Bryant of the past. He took the stage with former teammates Robert Horry and Rick Fox, and as part of the storytelling that took place, Bryant reminded us of the way his teammates always knew to pass him the ball in the game's most critical moments.
Fox was asked if he would pass the ball to Horry or to Bryant with the game on the line, which is (at least theoretically) a fairly tough question. Horry has several memorable game-winners on his résumé, and while Bryant does, too, he's taken a much higher volume of shots in clutch situations, and has made them at a far lower percentage.
Fox attempted to be diplomatic about it, and began to say something along the lines of, "whoever was the most open would be the one who would receive the pass."
But Kobe wasn't having any of that nonsense.
"He's throwing that damn ball to me," Bryant said.
