Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson both came into the NBA in 1996, with Iverson as the No. 1 overall selection by the Philadelphia 76ers and Bryant the No. 13 overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets — later sent to the Lakers. The duo would eventually do battle in the 2001 NBA Finals, but their rivalry began long before that and likely long before Iverson was even aware of it.
In an essay for The Player’s Tribune, Bryant wrote about how he was obsessive and maniacal about studying Iverson after realizing how large the gap was between he and The Answer. Bryant said it started after a November night where Iverson scored 35 points on the Knicks, while Bryant played five minutes and had two points against the Rockets. This enraged Bryant to the point of flipping tables in his hotel room, inspiring him to work harder.
Then Iverson put 41 points on him in a March meeting between the Sixers and Lakers in 1999, and Bryant’s obsession with topping Iverson truly began.
“Working harder wasn’t enough,” wrote Bryant. “I had to study this man maniacally. I obsessively read every article and book I could find about AI. I obsessively watched every game he had played, going back to the IUPU All-American Game. I obsessively studied his every success, and his every struggle. I obsessively searched for any weakness I could find.
“I searched the world for musings to add to my AI Musecage. This led me to study how great white sharks hunt seals off the coast of South Africa. The patience. The timing. The angles.”
First, Kobe is really committed to this Musecage thing. Also, it should be noted, that Bryant is and always has been a borderline insane person. It’s what made him great and all that, but my goodness. Studying great white sharks hunting seals? I mean, I guess if it works it works, but only Kobe could see the connection between that and basketball.
Anyways, Kobe shut Iverson down in their next meeting in 2000, and Bryant wrote that he vowed to never let anyone take such a hold over him again, instead committing to treating every matchup like it was “life or death,” which, if you watched Kobe’s prime years you’d have to
say he succeeded in taking that approach most every night. Bryant, with the help of Shaq, also got the best of Iverson in the 2001 NBA Finals as the Lakers rolled past the Sixers 4-1 for their second consecutive title.
Kobe has been a pleasant surprise in how open he’s been recently, considering for most of his career he rarely let people in until the very tail end when he suddenly became the best interview in the league — I’ve never seen anyone hold court at a press conference quite like late career Kobe. This snippet of a story about he and Iverson offers a glimpse into just how intense Bryant was and how, in his words, maniacal he was about getting better and finding any advantage he could.
