When Charles Barkley revealed the reason behind Kobe Bryant cursing at him all night: “Calling me every freaking name in the book"
NBA legend-turned-TNT analyst Charles Barkley has never been one to shy away from sharing his opinions. Between his brutal honesty and his outgoing personality, Barkley has become one of the most popular basketball analysts.
However, sometimes Barkley’s comments can rub players the wrong way. This was the case when Barkley once opted to call out late LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant for refusing to shoot the ball.
During a recent interview with Taylor Rooks for Bleacher Report, Charles Barkley recounted the memorable exchange between him and Bryant.
“Remember the night that Kobe Bryant wouldn’t shoot the basketball?” Barkley said.
“Against the Suns one year. I went off on him after the game. I said, ‘Hey, listen. We're all big Kobe Bryant fans, but what he did tonight was just total bulls***.’
“He wouldn’t shoot the ball; he was trying to prove a point. I think he shot one time in the second half. And it was brutal. He was just trying to prove a point that he didn’t have any help,” Barkley continued.
The game Barkley was referring to was Game 7 of the first round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs when the Lakers faced off against Phoenix. Bryant had previously faced criticism for being a ball hog. He decided to be passive in the second half out of spite. The Lakers ended up getting blown out, 121-90.
When Bryant heard Barkley’s comments, he proceeded to go off on him via a series of angry text messages.
“So he starts texting me after the game,” Barkley said.
“Calling me every freaking name in the book. And this goes on for about three hours. It’s like four, five o’clock in the morning now. We worked to, like, 1:30, 2:00.
“And he said, ‘Yo, man. Pick up the freaking phone and talk to me.’ But he was calling me every name in the book,” Barkley continued.
Charles Barkley then recalled how funny the exchange was between him and Bryant and how he defended his reasoning for his comments.
“That was really one of the funniest nights of my life,” Barkley said.
“Because I get back to the hotel, and it’s like 2:30. And we text each other probably another 10, 15 times. His texts were like cursing me out. I’m like, ‘Yo, man. I explained to you why I said what I said,’” Barkley continued.
Charles Barkley's discussion of his memorable exchange with Kobe Bryant starts at the 1:07:48 mark below.
Kobe Bryant later switched his stance on Charles Barkley’s criticism
Despite initially being frustrated with Charles Barkley’s comments, Kobe Bryant later switched his stance and admitted that he was wrong. Barkley recalled that the next time he saw Bryant, a year later, Bryant came up to him to apologize.
“When we saw each other the next year, he said, 'Yo, man. You know what? You were right,’” Barkley said.
“And that’s the thing I admired about Kobe. He said, ‘Chuck, you were right, and I was wrong.’ I said, 'Yo, man. I love you. You were wrong that night,’” Barkley continued.
So in the end, it was all love and respect between the two Hall of Famers.
Also read: When Shaquille O’Neal was criticized by Kobe Bryant over injuries: “I don’t need Shaq’s advice on how to play hurt”