"Relax. I got this": Ty Lue recalls story where Kobe Bryant went off in the NBA Finals after Shaquille O'Neal fouled out
LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was best known for his killer instinct throughout his illustrious 20-year career. This came as Bryant would do whatever it took to win, even if it came at the expense of his own teammates.
During a recent appearance on the 'All The Smoke' podcast, Bryant’s former teammate, Ty Lue, recalled one of Bryant’s earliest signature moments. This came when Bryant took it upon himself to carry LA during Game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers.
According to Lue, Bryant’s co-star, Shaquille O’Neal, had fouled out of the game, leading the Lakers to panic. Bryant, who had been struggling throughout the game, then turned down pleas from his teammates and coach to play sound team basketball.
Instead, the Lakers great decided to take over the game himself, scoring 12 or so straight points, including hitting a clutch shot. Kobe then assured his teammates that he had everything under control:
“Shaq fouled out so everybody kind of panicked,” Lue said.
“So, they thought like, ‘Okay, Shaq fouled out. We gotta move the ball, we gotta get everybody involved, we gotta play a different style of basketball.’ So, I think Kob had missed like three shots in a row.
"He took a couple of bad shots, whatever, and he missed three shots in a row. So, guys are like, ‘Man, you got to move the ball,’ and (coach) Phil (Jackson) was on him a little bit in the timeout.
“He came out and I think he might've scored 12 straight or something. Then he hit that big shot and he's like, ‘Man, relax. Relax. I got this.’ After that series, that’s when it was over. It was over.”
Kobe was really 21 years old silencing his own team in the NBA Finals ♾️
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LA, led by Kobe Bryant, went on to win Game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals 120-118 in overtime to take a crucial 3-1 series lead. The Lakers would then end up closing out the series in six games to win the first title of their eventual three-peat.
Kobe Bryant on his teammates complaining that he didn’t trust them
Later on in his story about Kobe Bryant taking over Game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals, Lue spoke about Bryant’s postgame interview. He said that Bryant was asked what he thought about his teammates complaining that he didn’t trust them to take big shots.
According to Lue, Bryant told the reporter that he trusted himself to hit contested shots more than he trusted his teammates to hit open ones:
“The reported asked Kobe, he was like, ‘You know, your teammates say you don’t trust them. How do you feel about that?
“He said, ‘Well, I feel like I got a better chance of making a shot over two people than a guy who’s wide open.’”
Also read: "Yo, like he's nice": Stephen Curry recalls fond memory of Kobe Bryant giving him validation in his rookie year