Thursday, February 7th, 2013 at 9:40 am  |  117 responses

Kobe Bryant Wishes LeBron James Responded to His Trash Talk


The NBA is a much friendlier league than it used to be. Guys hug and shake hands before and after games. This remains a foreign concept to Kobe Bryant, who came into the L when there was legitimate beef between players and teams. In a long, fun Q&A with ESPN, Bryant laments that someone like LeBron James won’t talk back on the court to him: “The longevity of (Paul) Pierce and (Kevin Garnett), said Kobe, has provided some perspective in their long and often heated competitions. ‘If there’s one Celtic that tries to talk smack to me, it will be Paul,’ Kobe reported. “We’re similar in age, have been through some of the same things, so he feels like he can try. But he’s not as good at it as I am. I don’t talk trash often, but when I do, I go for the jugular.’ The camaraderie of today’s NBA players, fueled, in part, by their AAU alliances, is mildly disturbing to Bryant, who preferred it when the enemy was anyone who didn’t ride the team bus with you to the game. ‘They don’t seem to want to talk any trash,’ Kobe shrugged. ‘I say everything to LeBron. He says nothing back. He just laughs. There’s no banter back and forth. I guess it’s a generational thing. When I first came into the league, the trash talk was downright cutthroat.’”

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  • KevinJohnsonFan

    He laughs because he’s the best player in the world, has been for a good 5 seasons, and his game has done all the talking he needs to do.

  • http://twitter.com/JulieBron6 julie ann

    exactly!

  • spit hot fiyah

    i go for the jagular, ftw, i like that one. also, no curse words?

  • Rodney

    I agree with Kobe, these so called great players are too soft. Great players will respond back to trash talking,

  • Rodney

    NBA has gone Jello soft, even their officating is wack!

  • Slick Ric

    Get off his nuts….dont like you lebron nut huggers.

  • Happy

    That’s so true tho. Nothing pisses people off more than being dismissed with a laugh and a head shake.

  • Happy

    Right, because that determines the outcomes of games. Gotcha.

  • hushabomb

    What’s worse is that there is no one to hold these guys accountable and so now there’s no vets to push and mold the young guys to be better. Trash talk is all good and makes the players respond (hopefully)

  • KevinJohnsonFan

    So he’s not the best player in the league? What did I say wrong? Or do you just have a desire to make yourself look stupid today?

  • KevinJohnsonFan

    It’s a different time. Kobe, Pierce, KG, Duncan (although he never appears to say anything) and the rest of those 90s stars are almost done. Most of the group of stars that came after them know each other well. It’s no better or worse than it used to be. Just different. If you’re stuck in the 80s and 90s, go on YouTube and watch highlights or buy old DVDs and watch as much as you want.

  • chyea

    He doesn’t need to talk cause his team is kicking your ass, Kobe

  • 23

    I loved it when LeBron laughed in KGs face in the playoffs last year. You can tell that genuinely pissed of Garnett.

  • Guatki

    Did Kobe said again that someone is good at something, but of course he is better? C’mon Kobe, know You’re confident but… STOP IT (Shaq’s voice)!

  • danpowers

    i really miss this part of the game. that on court smack talk often helped to feul up games and was really entertaining. you dont see it that often anymore

  • KevinJohnsonFan

    It definitely did.

  • Dymez
  • shockexchange

    Armed with “The LeBron Rules … Keys to Stopping LeBron James,” there is King James and then there’s everybody else … no need to respond to players who aren’t on your level.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=509819249 Gaurav P.

    Yeah…I don’t think Kobe meant this as disrespect, more like “this is so different now than it used to be”. Its just a different generation of players – life in the NBA goes on.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=509819249 Gaurav P.

    Except Duncan.

  • pposse

    You guys are all missing the point of the article. This generation developed comraderie via AAU Basketball. This is most definately true and plays a vital role in the modern day NBA players psyche. Slam clearly states this, guys these days been bred to play bball since 13, received sound advice from the past and won’t step on each others toes anymore in their pursuit to the cheddar.

    These guys are competitive but in different ways.

  • http://twitter.com/_DFrance DFrance

    I’m a KG fan and it pissed me off so I can only imagine. Lol

  • theDankerNuggets

    the most competitive man in the world: “I don’t always talk trash. But when I do, I go for the jugular.”

  • https://twitter.com/jasontichenor Mr. Wet

    These guys just actually have the ability to be friends growing up. With AAU and social media these guys can stay in touch all the time. You didn’t know people as well if they weren’t on your team back then. The internet isn’t that old, it’s changed a lot of things.

  • yeee

    Kidd, Duncan, Grant Hill, Nash, all HOF’ers 90′s players, who didnt need to talk trash yet still command respect on the court. Its not being soft. We all know that one dude at the park playing pick-up and talking hella crap. It’s all to get himself pumped up. Kobe’s trash talk is more about himself than the player he’s yapping at.

  • Slick Ric

    I guess MJ wasn’t the best player when he trashed talked nor was Bird arguably the best when he did it either….Its just typical stupid logic from a lebron nut hugger that he laughs because he’s the best in the world with nothing to prove, please. This isn’t a diss towards Lebron either, this is aimed at you lebron apologist, I don’t have a problem with him not responding to Kobe’s trash talk.

  • Happy

    Your logic is the only one that doesn’t make sense here, buddy. Saying someone doesn’t have to talk when you’re the best is not the same as saying if you talk trash you aren’t the best. That conclusion you came to was so randomly unrelated it’s actually funny. It literally made zero sense whatsoever.

  • The Fury

    Two Words: Gary Payton.

  • Sweet Daddy

    Grant Hill isn’t a HOF’er, BTW.

  • pposse

    cosign, its similar to the WWE when the The Rock was in charge. The attitude era will always be known as the best era in wrestling, just like the 80s and 90s will always be considered the best era in the NBA.

    Its all about the personalities.

  • Sergio

    Totally agree. MJ, Magic, Larry, Charles, KG, Malone, Payton, etc. they all talked. Today’s players don’t talk because they really don’t care.

  • Sergio

    MJ talked. Who was at MJ’s level?

  • Sergio

    Which team is kicking the Laker’s ass? Cleveland? Miami? Which team? Please remember that the Lakers won 5 championships last decade.

  • Sergio

    Who is talking about the outcome of games? Kobe said that players now dont talk trash. Simple. No logic, no outcome, just trash-talking.

  • Happy

    Which has what to do with Lebron’s record over Kobe in head-to-head matchups?

  • Sergio

    Grant Hill and Duncan talked.

  • Happy

    He mentioned great players. Great players win. What does trash talking have to do with being great? Duncan doesn’t trash talk. Is he not great? Kareem? Do you guys even know what point you are trying to make, because there doesn’t really seem to be one.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003246310246 Jason Carter

    He doesnt have the KG effect..everyone responds to KG one way or the other.

  • Sergio

    head to head match ups? Wow. This is now tennis.

  • Sergio

    The point is that this generation doesn’t talk as much as last generations. Do you agree or disagree? He NEVER mentioned great player talk. NEVER. Let me repeat myself. He NEVER mentioned great players.

  • Happy

    Are you intentionally being slow? Head-to-head matchups, as in his team vs Kobe’s. Do you understand? chyea’s comment was about Lebron’s teams vs Kobe’s teams. It’s not rocket science.

  • Happy

    My response was to Rodney, hence his name being beside my comment after the little arrow. Let me repeat myself, the little arrow beside my name denotes to whom I was referring.

  • Sergio

    Kobe has won two championships since Lebron entered the league. Lebron 1. Kobe’s teams have won more championships. Head to Head = Kobe>Lebron

  • http://www.slamonline.com/ Nick Tha Quick

    Which would explain why he responded to Reggie Evans and Lance Stephenson comments/taunts. The only 2 players on his level.

  • Sergio

    My reply is to you. Now answer.

  • shockexchange

    In 3rd grade the Shock Exchange put a message in a bottle intended for Lola Falana. He wonders why she never responded back …

  • Happy

    Gee thanks for sharing this previously unknown info that has nothing to do with the comments. Your information is irrelevant in a discussion of head-to-head matchups because the Lakers never played a Lebron team in the Finals. Clearly you are having trouble following the convo and the phrase “head-to-head matchup”.

  • Happy

    Answer what? You aren’t making any sense. None of your points have anything to do with any of the comments posted here.

  • jdubb

    sergio doesn’t watch sports. can’t get mad at someone who doesn’t know better. i love it when a person goes out on a tanget in their defense instead of just copping to the fact that they dont know what they’re talking about.

    Topic: Lebron does not talk trash or respond because he is busy becoming the best–e.g. focused on his JOB. trash talk is irrelevent to some people because even responding back can take you off your focus to WIN…which the Lakers are not doing NOW. you are only as good as your last game.

  • KevinJohnsonFan

    Again, different eras. Deal with it. The game has changed. I’m a LeBron apologist because I don’t think he needs to trash talk? Did you watch him last year? What more did he need to say that he didn’t say with the season he had or the Olympics he had? So you’re implying that LeBron is wrong for not talking trash? That really makes sense to you? Wow.

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