Shane Battier: So I by no means spoke to Kobe exterior the gymnasium ever, we by no means had a relationship. Kobe… he would at all times play thoughts video games with me. Sooner or later he’d be tremendous pleasant like ‘Hey Shane! How are you doing man? How’s your loved ones?’ And the subsequent day he wouldn’t even have a look at you, after which the subsequent day he would go ‘Hey man, good to see you!’ So it was this sport throughout the sport throughout the sport. And I used to be similar to… keep in mind Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh? I used to be similar to Eeyore, ‘I can’t guard Kobe, he’s so a lot better than me, I’m simply fortunate to be on the courtroom with him…’ He really wrote about me in Mamba Mentality ebook, implausible ebook, clearly and the web page was on Kobe Stoppers, and he’s like ‘I don’t consider anyone may cease me, my muscle reminiscence was higher than anyone, he’s speaking in regards to the hand within the face with Kobe’ however he stated ‘Shane did one thing very sensible the place he by no means stated he may guard me, and at all times downplayed his potential to play me, however I noticed that as false humility and I attacked him due to it’… And he was proper!!! He was proper!!! He knew! That was the sport we performed, it was the sport throughout the sport throughout the sport, solely he and I knew we have been taking part in, it was this metagame, so f*cking loopy, that solely he and I knew on the highest degree of competitors. So when he handed it actually, actually affected me as a result of I at all times thought I’d have this dialog with him sooner or later, and we are going to sooner or later in up above. For me, that was the purest degree of competitors that I confronted in all my years of basketball and I miss him. -via YouTube / Might 26, 2024
