Back in 2002, there was a scuffle that occurred between Kobe Bryant and then Los Angeles Lakers teammate Samaki Walker. Head coach at the time Phil Jackson dismissed it in the media calling it “juvenile stuff,” and though Walker showed up with a bandage over his right eye the next day, the news was swept under the rug, never to be spoken of again. That is until recently, when Samaki Walker appeared on the Brown and Scoop Show, giving his version of events.
Walker alleges that Bryant suckered punched him after practice one day over a $100 bet. At the time, Lakers players played a game where 2 players would put $100 in a pot and whomever could make a half-court shot first would earn the money. Kobe, being the prolific shooter that he is, won the competition and Walker assumed that he had 48 hours to pay up.
It wasn’t even 48 hours, Kobe comes to me on the bus, asking me where his $100 is, believe it or not. Out of all the people, he chose me, which is still to this day puzzling. I told him, ‘Man, I don’t have no $100 on me right now. First of all, why are you coming at me for $100?’ With that being said, I put my earphones back on, and once I put my earphones back on, the most amazing thing happened. Kobe, he sucker-punched me.
Walker later shared that immediately after the punch, he told coach Jackson to have the team bus stopped and asked Kobe for a fair one, to which he declined.
