Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant is venerated as a basketball god today. Yet some are not aware that he might have stepped on a few toes to achieve his stature. His former teammate Smush Parker was on the receiving end of such harsh words.

As reported by Matt Caputo of Bleacher Report, Parker — who now greets churchgoers in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, reflected on his feud with Bryant.

To recall, Bryant once said that Parker shouldn't have been in the NBA, pointing out that the Lakers were too cheap to acquire a point guard other than him.

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“This might not ever happen, but in a perfect world, if Kobe would just say something like he might have said something [about me] out of anger and he didn't really mean those things about me being the worst point guard in the NBA,” Parker says earnestly. “I really can't believe that the two seasons that I played with him, with the numbers that I put up and moments that we had, that he really felt like I was the worst point guard in the NBA.”

“The reason why I say overrated is because everybody thinks that playing with Kobe Bryant is the best thing since sliced bread, when it's not,” Parker added.

Looking back on Bryant's comments, Parker turned reminiscent. He is obviously still affected by it, though it's been almost a decade since they parted. For Parker, it's hard to just accept those words when he knows in his heart that he did well and he doesn't deserve to be called the worst point guard in the NBA.