Kobe Bryant’s Words Were Enough to Convince Matt Barnes to Pull the Plug on Joining LeBron James in 2010

Most basketball enthusiasts would remember Matt Barnes’ infamous incident with Kobe Bryant. For those who don’t, let’s go back to March 2010, when Barnes from Orlando Magic was facing Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers. The 6’7″ forward was guarding the Black Mamba, and the two had some near-physical altercations during the game. Amid all of this came Barnes’ infamous fake ball throw at Kobe, but the 5x NBA champ didn’t even flinch. But how did the two go from that point to playing on the same team? In fact, to the extent that Matt chose Bryant over the possibility of having LeBron James as a teammate.

Turns out, it did not even take much for Kobe to convince Barnes. In his recent appearance at the UNINTERRUPTED Film Festival, the 44-year-old recalled getting a call from an unknown number when his stint with the Magic was ending in 2010. On the other end, it was none other than Kobe Bryant himself.

The two talked about the infamous incident as well, and as per Barnes, the Black Mamba appreciated him for never backing down or for falling for any of the bullsh*t since he had known him. “And he’s like, ‘Do you want to be a Laker?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m a West coast kid. Grew up in northern California. I grew up watching Magic Johnson. Hell, yeah.’ In, like, three or four days, I was a Laker,” he stated at the film festival. The 2017 NBA champ played two seasons with the Lakers. 

Mostly coming off the bench, Barnes averaged 7.3 points with 32.7% 3-point FG% and 45.9% FG. Apart from this, he averaged 4.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game with the Lakers. His friendship with Bryant also developed to the extent of having the 5x NBA champ party with him. During a crossover episode of All the Smoke and Knuckleheads podcasts, Barnes rhetorically asked Stephen Jackson, “Who had him out in the club doing the sh*t we like to do?”

Matt further mentioned, “He (Bryant) didn’t smoke with me though. But we had Kobe out in the streets.” The incident displays Barnes had some enjoyable experiences with the Lakers, but he could not win any championship with the team. His first and only championship with the Warriors was in 2017, but could this number have been higher or could the opportunity at least have been sooner?

Barnes chose Kobe Bryant over the possibility of LeBron James as a teammate

The 2017 NBA champ, in the Uninterrupted Film Festival, recalled that the time he joined the Lakers was also the time the Big-3 in Miami was assembling. “So LeBron and Bosh are headed there, and I’m talking to Pat Riley and D-Wade. And they’re painting this picture of what this group would be like and come join it,” he recollected.

Now, Bron may have faced severe criticism over abandoning the Cleveland Cavaliers to form a super team with Wade and Bosh. But the fact of the matter is he won 2 championships in South Beach. There could have been many players who would have jumped on the possibility of joining LeBron, Wade, and Bosh on a team, but Matt Barnes was not one of them.

The NBA champ giving up on the opportunity to hop on this super team reflects two things. First, he did not join Kobe Bryant, despite his earlier clash, just because he had no other options to explore. The second is his love for the city, as stated by him at the film festival.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.