Los Angeles Lakers newly acquired head coach Luke Walton recently appeared on the Uniterrrupted’s Open Run podcast, telling an incredible story about Kobe Bryant.
After one of the podcast’s hosts Jesse Williams asked Walton for a Kobe story, the former Golden State Warriors assistant coach recalled a time when he showed up to practice smelling of alcohol from the night before and Bryant took an exception to it (via Silver Screen & Roll):
“I remember one time my rookie year, I came in a little, uh him (Kobe Bryant) and Shaq like to do this as, I think it was just rookies, but any young guy, I probably had too much to drink the night before, so I came in, I was a rookie, I felt good, and they could smell some alcohol on me. And Kobe informed the rest of the team that no one was allowed to help me on defense, and that I had to guard him the entire practice.”
“I was laughing at first like, ‘Oh, this is funny,' but in Kobe's mind, in his eyes, it was like, ‘No, I see and smell weakness, I'm going to destroy you today.' He taught me that lesson. He probably scored 70-something in practice that day, and I was begging for help, none of the teammates would help. But yeah, his killer instinct and his work ethic, they'll stick with me forever.”
It wasn’t only Kobe that gave Walton that kind of harsh treatment however; Shaquille O’Neal also made him pay for his unprofessionalism, Walton said:
“Shaq did it to me too one day. Yeah, Shaq made me guard him, and then I just started trying to foul him, and he told me that if I kept fouling him, he was gonna punch me, so then I stopped fouling him. It wasn't fair. I felt like I was a child trying to play a grown man's game.”
The temptations of living and working as a successful athlete in Los Angeles, were clearly too much for Walton, who seemingly partied with the best of them. Although, if he was going to let his hair down regularly, he needed to be prepared to play with the best of them too.
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