"You ain't got s**t on me": Kobe Bryant once relentlessly trash-talked teammate Jeremy Lin during Lakers practice in 2014
Kobe Bryant's trash-talking is regarded as the stuff of legend, and the LA Lakers legend didn't back down from dishing out to his teammates as well. One of them was Jeremy Lin who was the receiving end of Bryant's savage talking during practice in 2014. The 4x NBA champion minced no words when he relentlessly trash-talked Lin.
An entire defensive possession saw Bryant go at his teammate with an expletive-filled challenge, and there was no backing down until the latter clattered a three-point attempt.
"He don't want it. This m**********r don't got s**t. You ain't got s**t on me. Can't even get ready to shoot."
Lin was traded by the Rockets along with a first-round draft pick and a second-round draft pick, to the Lakers in exchange for the rights to Serhiy Lishchuk. However, it wasn't the greatest of seasons for the guard as LA went through a torrid season, ending 21-61. In his only season with the Purple and Gold, he finished with 11.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 74 appearances.
As for Kobe Bryant, the last trophy he would win with the LA Lakers was in 2010, marking his fifth NBA title. He and LA dealt with a few rough seasons soon after, but safe to say, that his competitive spirit was far from done.
Kobe Bryant was an "intelligent" trash-talker on the floor
NBA players who have played with and against Kobe Bryant have shared their stories of the 'Black Mamba' trash-talking on the court. One of them was Gilbert Arenas, who tried to get the better of the late Lakers icon but was outdone in the process. Speaking on VLAD TV, the former Washington Wizards star recollected the story.
It's a 2-on-1 break, and Caron (Butler) fouls, stops the break, So everybody's like, 'Good job, good stop…You saved two points.'"
That didn't shake Bryant.
"So Kobe walks over to him and says, 'Hey, who are you guarding? 'You.' 'How many fouls you got?' 'I got one.' 'So you only got five left?' 'Yeah.' 'Well you need all six fouls to guard me, and you just wasted one on him, Stupid play.'"
Arenas was dumbfounded but also realized that Bryant was right. Such was his immense self-confidence that he forced Arenas into thinking that he would need all of his fouls just to keep the guard quiet. Quite simply, Kobe Bryant was one of a kind, and the legendary trash-talking still has players talking about him to date.