Kobe Bryant entered the NBA in 1996 straight out of high school and was immediately anointed as Michael Jordan‘s successor. His instant fame rubbed a few NBA veterans the wrong way. The Los Angeles Lakers star’s hyper-competitive attitude was also perceived as disrespectful by some, and it got him into massive trouble during his maiden All-Star Weekend in 1998.
In the book titled ‘Three-Ring Circus,’ author Jeff Pearlman revealed an alleged elevator allegation involving Bryant and former New Jersey Nets star Jayson Williams. He wrote,
“One day, Bryant boarded an elevator occupied by (weird trio alert) Knicks forward Charles Oakley, Nets forward
Jayson Williams, and a Manhattan businessman named Donald Trump, who happened to own the hotel. “Hey, Kobe,” Williams said, ‘What’s up?’ Bryant was listening to a Walkman, and while he heard the greeting, he merely shrugged and slurred, ‘Hey, big man,’ without looking up.”
Williams wasn’t too fond of Bryant. He was among those who thought the young star was turned into a bigger deal than he was, and it had gotten to his head. Williams told Pearlman,
“Kobe was cocky to everyone. Everyone. Michael Jordan was arrogant, but with a smile. Kobe was just a d**k. I didn’t appreciate it.”
Due to his prejudice, Williams took exception to Bryant’s innocuous response to his greeting and punched Bryant in the cheek. The shellshocked young star managed to escape the altercation with Donald Trump’s help. Pearlman wrote,
“Trump, of all people, grabbed Williams and told Bryant, ‘Get out of here. Quickly.’ He exited the elevator.”
Everything about this story seems too absurd to be true. A 30-year-old NBA star punched a young sensation after a harmless response, forcing Trump to peacemaker and save the young star from a beatdown in an elevator. However, Williams’ admission explains his actions. A kid straight out of high school earning comparisons to the best player in the league caused some envy among players.
To his credit, Bryant lived up to his billing and retired as one of the best guards in NBA history. The 1997-98 season was the sole year Williams earned an All-Star nod. He last played in the NBA in 2000. Trump went from businessman to reality TV star to United States president. All three characters of the story embarked on interesting trajectories in their lives. However, Trump’s seems the most implausible, just like the story of him saving a young man from a vicious attack from his older peer.
Kobe Bryant was brash from the beginning
Kobe Bryant’s perception among the NBA veterans was carved by his actions. In the book ‘Three-Ring Circus’, author Jeff Pearlman recalled the press conference in which Bryant announced he would skip college and head straight to the NBA. He wrote,
“He wore sunglasses. Sunglasses! And they may well have been drugstore shades, but they looked Armani on him. It was hard to accept the total lack of humility and the sort of Hollywood quality to it. I’d been around Michael Jordan, I’d been around Charles Barkley, but I’d never seen anything so show-offish.”
An 18-year-old behaving like a superstar was bound to ruffle some feathers. He rode the bench for his first two seasons in the league, but in his first year as the starter, he played well enough to earn an All-Star nod. Despite the punching incident almost destroying his maiden All-Star appearance, he put on a show in the All-Star game.
Bryant finished the game with a team-high 18 points in the Western Conference’s 135-114 loss in the Eastern Conference. He earned 17 more All-Star nods during his illustrious career, the third-most in NBA history.