Kobe Bryant’s Beef With Ex-Teammate Was Fueled by Unfulfilled Challenges, Gilbert Arenas Explains

Many players have memories of a heavy defeat at the hands of Kobe Bryant. But bitter memories? Former NBA player Smush Parker was publicly called the “worst” player by Bryant. But why would he go the extra mile with such a label? As was the case, Bryant’s obsession with work ethic and utilizing every minute and chance was rather insane. Gilbert Arenas believes that the Lakers icon could not respect those who didn’t share the same hunger and passion for winning. But was it to the point where he would go as far as to disrespect his former teammate?

In the latest episode of DJ Vlad’s show, Arenas shared that this might be the reason behind the infamous feud considering Bryant’s competitive mindset. Agent Zero paints a picture in which the Lakers legend offers Parker to practice alongside him early in the morning but Parker refuses. The retired NBA player further added that Bryant never respected people who didn’t respect their game. 

“It was probably because of something like this he probably randomly called Smush in the middle of night two three f*****g 5 in the morning and said hey yo I’m training where you at right and Smush didn’t come to the gym once Kobe realized getting better working you don’t drop it you don’t drop whatever you’re doing for this yeah I don’t respect you anymore. It’s probably something,” Arenas explained.

Furthermore, he went on to add how Pau Gasol, Metta Sandiford-Artest, and others who were quite close to the champ must have shown up in such instances. Bryant’s behavior may seem rude, however, the Kobe many have come to know, was, perhaps, just principled. 

What did Kobe Bryant say about Smush Parker?

After his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Parker shared that he and Kobe never spoke to each other. Despite having lockers next to each other in the past, they never held a conversation. The 18x NBA All-Star even discouraged him with some tough words when he approached Mamba. Parker shared that Bryant told him not to speak to him unless he had enough accolades under his belt.

However, that’s hardly the end. Following this, in an interview, Bryant called out Parker and said, “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.” While this was quite shocking to the fans, that must have hurt the player too. But perhaps, all Bryant had in his mind was his work ethic.