Few players, past or present, have had to face Kobe Bryant at the peak of his powers with the same frequency as Jalen Rose. With the first anniversary of Bryant's tragic death quickly approaching, as well as the 15th anniversary of Kobe's historic 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors having only just passed, Rose has spent the last several days reflecting on the legacy of the Lakers' great.
Yet, for all the anecdotes Rose has provided recently about Kobe as a man and a player, his revelation Friday might be the most surprising.
Sitting down with ESPN's Jorge Sedano to discuss his experience guarding Byrant during the 2000 NBA Finals, Jalen admitted that he intentionally placed his foot under Byrant when the latter rose for a jump shot, with the hope that Kobe would land and injure himself.
“One of the things that happened in my career, and I don't think it's cute or cool and I'm not proud of it, [but] playing in that series Kobe went up for a jump shot, and the reason why this ended up happening is because in Games 1, 2, and 3, I realized…we can't guard him,” Rose explained.
“So he went up for that jump shot and I purposely acted like I was contesting the shot and made him come down on my foot. In my mind I clearly didn't want him to. break his ankle, but in my mind it would be great if he missed the next three games.”
As most Lakers fans will recall, it was Kobe Bryant's ability to return and help win the series, despite playing on the injured ankle, that cemented his place as a franchise great. Though Bryant was almost certainly aware of Rose's intention when the play occurred, the two appeared to have patched things over as the years progressed, at one point appearing in a commercial for ESPN together.
Regardless, Jalen Rose's revelation is another reminder that even injuries couldn't slow Kobe Bryant down when he was at his best.
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