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Matt Barnes Recalls Incident With Kobe Bryant That Got Him Death Threats From Lakers Fans: 'They’re Gonna Kill My Kids'
Matt Barnes and Kobe Bryant didn't have any beef or bad blood between them but once incident on the court made the LA Lakers fans lose their cool against Barnes. Let's find out the reason.
Former Lakers player Matt Barnes had a successful 14-year career in the NBA. Despite his accomplishments, one of his most challenging moments was with Kobe.
During the Lakers game, Barnes tried to intimidate Kobe by faking a pass. Unfortunately, because of the camera angle, it seemed like he was intentionally throwing the ball at Kobe's face to intimidate him.
Life was never the same for Barnes after this attempted intimidation of Kobe on the court, as he started receiving threats. The former NBA Champion discussed the incident in a podcast with Paul George.
What did Barnes say?
Barnes stated: "It was crazy because I was getting super death threats after that. I was kind of the bad guy, the villain, whatever. But I became the real villain after that shit. People said on Twitter they're gonna kill me."
Barnes further mentioned: "They're gonna find my address, kill my kids, kill my girl. 'Come to L.A. You better never come back to L.A. We gonna kill you.' You can't fuck with Kobe. Them eses in L.A. don't play about the Lakers and [Los Angeles] Dodgers and particularly Kobe. Bro, I got so many death threats. I kid you not."
Calm Kobe under Animosity
Barnes explained the reason behind the fake pass. According to Barnes, it was just the animosity between the teams, the Magic, and the Lakers after the previous year's Finals. One noteworthy thing was that Kobe didn't even flinch when Barnes tried that.
He mentioned the intimidation he faced from Kobe during their time on the court, getting some elbows from him. However, he always admired Kobe's mental toughness and ability to stay calm under pressure.
ALSO READ: LeBron James Feared Love for Kobe Bryant Would Prevent Lakers' Fans From Fully Embracing Him: Report
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