When Kobe Bryant savagely trolled Jamie Foxx for claiming he won’t win a title - “You’re gonna choke on my 5th ring”
LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was the ultimate competitor. Hollywood star Jamie Foxx learned early on that trash-talking "Black Mamba" was not a smart move and Foxx once shared a fascinating story that displayed the levels of Bryant's competitive nature.
During an episode of "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon in 2020, Foxx recalled an interaction with the late Kobe Bryant where the two started going back and forth when discussing basketball. Bryant played his entire 20-year career with the Lakers and was loyal to the Southern California team. Meanwhile, Foxx was born and raised in Texas and had a close connection to the Dallas Mavericks.
When the renowned actor started to question Bryant's fitness and the quality of his team, it seemed to trigger something in Bryant. Bryant actually left Foxx's show to go work out at the time. The interaction wasn't finished though, with Bryant later texting Foxx to troll him with a confident message of his own.
"Do you have some water?," wrote Kobe. "You're going to need it because you're gonna choke on my fifth ring."
According to Foxx, the conversation took off after Bryant questioned his allegiance to the Mavs.
"Mavericks? Mavericks? I thought you was a winner," said Kobe.
The discussion took place sometime in 2009, just before Bryant had won his fifth NBA title.
Bryant was drafted by the Lakers in 1996 and won his first ring in 2000. The talented shooting guard followed that up with two more championships in 2001 and 2002, leading Los Angeles to a historic three-peat. After being named the league MVP in 2008, Bryant won his fourth and fifth titles in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
After an illustrious career that was littered with personal accolades, Kobe Bryant retired from the NBA in 2016.
Dallas Mavericks' Mark Cuban reveals he came close to securing a trade for Kobe Bryant in 2007
During an episode of Shaquille O'Neal's "The Big Podcast," Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban shared that he came close to signing the talented Kobe Bryant in 2007. At the time, Bryant was reportedly looking to move on from the Lakers and Cuban had discussed a potential trade with Lakers owner Jerry Buss to bring the guard to Dallas.
"Do you realize how close we were to trading for Kobe in 2007?" Cuban said to O'Neal. ""I was literally this close. I talked to Jerry Buss and worked something out with Jerry because Kobe had asked to leave. Jerry said, 'Ok, if you want to leave, we'll take care of it."
The goal for Cuban was to pair Kobe Bryant with his superstar, Dirk Nowitzki. The trade would have involved Josh Howard, Jason Terry and several draft picks.
Bryant ended up remaining in Los Angeles and winning two more titles. The Mavericks and Nowitzki would go on to win the championship in 2011.