Kobe Bryant’s Blockbuster Lakers Game Once Forced WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to Call for “Arrest” of Billionaire NBA Team Owner

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA finals. Although the Lakers clinched the title that year, their path to the finals was nothing less than eventful.

Interestingly enough, when the Lakers faced the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, a major controversy broke out in the league. There was a miscommunication between the Nuggets owner, the league, and the then CEO of WWE, Vince McMahon.

When the Lakers beat the Houston Rockets to reach the Finals, they were scheduled to play the Nuggets in Denver for Games three and four. Incidentally, the WWE had booked the Pepsi Center in Denver for Monday Night Raw. This happened to be the same venue booked by Stan Kroenke for game 4.

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Vince McMahon did not take this well. After all, they had already sold 10,000 tickets for the event with the company expecting a sellout of the event. This obviously was the fault of the NBA and its management, as WWE booked the event on August 15, 2008.

McMahon said, “Even though the Denver Nuggets had a strong team this year and were projected to make the playoffs, obviously Nuggets and Pepsi Center owner Stan Kroenke did not have enough faith in his own team to hold the May 25 date for a potential playoff game.” Talk about sarcasm!

Safe to say, Vince was quite annoyed with the NBA and Stan Kroenke in particular. He went on to even ask for the Nuggets owner’s arrest. “Quite frankly, it’s my view that Stan Kroenke should be arrested,” said Vince McMahon.

How did Kobe Bryant perform in the Western Conference Finals?

Controversies aside, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers put on a show against the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers beat the Nuggets 4-2 to advance to the finals where they faced the Orlando Magic.

Kobe averaged 34.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists. Pau Gasol played an important role as he averaged an impressive 17.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. (Source: landofbasketball.com)

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What is your favorite memory of Kobe Bryant? Let us know in the comments down below.