Charles Barkley Reveals How Kobe Bryant Was Close to Joining Him and Shaquille O’Neal on NBA on TNT

Kobe Bryant, as we all know, is one of the greatest ever to have set foot in the NBA. Spending 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe helped deliver 5 titles to the franchise along with several mesmerizing moments. Even though he won only 1 MVP award in 2008, to the city of LA, he is always their MVP.

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Among the 5 titles that Kobe helped win for LA, he would win 3 alongside his partner Shaquille O’Neal. The duo formed a deadly one-two punch and kept LA’s powerhouse status strong for several years. Although the duo would never be teammates again, they almost had the opportunity to partner up on NBA on TNT. This story was revealed by NBA legend, Charles Barkley.

Kobe Bryant Nearly Joined NBA on TNT

In a recent interview on ‘The Draymond Green Show’, Barkley shared the story of how Kobe almost joined Shaq and him on the TNT crew.

“We actually hired Kobe Bryant at Turner. But he didn’t wanna do all of the bullsh*t,” said Barkley.

“When we started telling like, you know, I have to do a bunch of radio shows. Like hey, I go on this show on Monday. Hey, from Thursday night TNT. Same thing on Tuesday, same thing on Wednesday, same thing on Thursday. He like, ‘I don’t wanna do all that stuff,'” explained Barkley, regarding Kobe.

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Clearly, Kobe was not interested in the elements that came with the job. As explained by Barkley, the ‘Mamba’ did not want to do the ‘PR stuff’ and appear on ‘radio shows’ to speak about basketball.

Kobe Over the Years

As stated earlier, Kobe was, and still is, one of the most iconic figures in the basketball world. Apart from being one of the most deadly basketball players, Kobe became an inspiration to the world. NBA players like Jayson Tatum and Devin Booker, as well as WNBA players like Sabrina Ionescu and Candace Parker, took great inspiration from the ‘Mamba’. During his 20 year Lakers run, Kobe gave fans plenty of heroic moments and eventually bid farewell to the NBA on a high. In his last ever game, the man scored 60 points to beat the Utah Jazz.

Outside of basketball, Kobe had a huge impact as well. Post his retirement, the man became a famed children’s author and even won an Oscar for the animated short film, “Dear Basketball”.

Although he tragically passed in January 2020, his legacy lives on forever. What’s your favorite Kobe memory? Let us know in the comments below.