Known for sometimes being demanding or even tyrannical with his teammates, Kobe Bryant also knew how to reward those he deemed worthy of his respect and affection. The proof ? A player has revealed that the Black Mamba has paid countless fines on his behalf. A classy gesture.
With his idol Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant is probably considered the most demanding player in history with his teammates. Stories of the late Laker pushing his teammates to the limit are legion, and the Mamba’s extreme competitiveness was not to everyone’s taste. Some, however, have always admired him, and had no relationship problems with him.
When Kobe Bryant paid a teammate’s fines
This is the case of Ronny Turiaf, who was relatively close to Kobe, but also to Matt Barnes. The scabby back, who never backed down from Bryant when he was his opponent, was also entitled to a very significant gesture from the five-time NBA champion: he paid him his fines.
It must be said that Barnes, a hothead par excellence, has piled up technical faults and freaking out during his career. But because Kobe liked him, he consistently took care of writing the check, as Barnes recalled on the “Bootleg Kev” podcast:
I tore my ass off on the floor, I was ready to do anything for my team. My teammates know that for me the team comes first, and that I treated them like my family. So as soon as there was a fight on the floor, they knew I would be there. The problem is that in total, I took almost 500,000 dollars in fines. Half a million.
It was never me who started the thing, I always came to the defense of a teammate. The only guy who paid my fines was Kobe, the others let me rack up.
A particularly interesting anecdote, which says a lot about Kobe’s state of mind. Are you ready to invest 300% for the team and leave everything on the pitch? Bryant sees it, and rewards you whenever he gets the chance. Are you dilettante, insufficiently involved or too little serious? The Mamba sees it too, and decides to put you through hell in order to get you back on the right track…
Kobe Bryant was true to his principles, and Matt Barnes exemplifies that. The Mamba indeed respected the “mad dog” that was his teammate, loyal and ready to do anything for his team, and he made sure to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover Barnes, who was significantly less well paid than him. The class.
