“There are loads of stories about what makes Kobe who he is,” Gaffney said. “Some will argue one of the greatest of all time, while others would say the most arrogant of all time. Personally, I don’t think there was a player I interacted with better than with Kobe.”
“The Lakers had just come off winning an NBA title and the first guy Kobe sees in the gym is myself,” Gaffney said. “He said, ‘Who the hell is this?'” Former Lakers teammate Lamar Odom followed up by telling Gaffney, “Kobe doesn’t like mother****ers like you.”
“We’re gonna start playing one-on-one,” Bryant told Gaffney, according to the forward. “I heard you’re a defensive lockdown player. So, lock me down.”
“Obviously easier said than done,” Gaffney said with a laugh. “But for about three weeks in a row, I was forced to show up hours before practice to play one-on-one against Kobe.”
“Oh, and I never got to play offense,” Gaffney said.
“There was no difference with the Lakers except no matter how early I showed up for practice, it wasn’t early enough: Kobe was on the court with three trainers doused in sweat,” Gaffney said.
“No one would have any idea that he’s been in the gym working for three-to-four hours,” Gaffney said.
“L.A. made it clear that I made the team. I was the last player cut at morning shootaround on opening night against the Clippers,” Gaffney explained. “I walked into the high-stakes room, but I didn’t have any money. I then saw Kobe, he was watching some guys throw some money around before he turns to me and says, ‘What are you doing here, rook?’
“Next thing I know, Kobe throws his black card on the table and hands me 10 stacks ($10,000). What I really wanted to do at the time was just put it in my pocket and run. Sure enough, an hour later it was all gone.”
“The next morning, I met Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge to sign the paperwork,” Gaffney said. “Looking back, I was four points away from winning an NBA ring.”
The ring, though, would ultimately go to Gaffney’s former one-on-one practice rival.
“Walking through the tunnel before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, which of course happened to be at Staples Center against the Lakers, I hear from behind some choice words; I turn around and it was Kobe,” Gaffney said. “To put it nicely, he called me a traitor. The next thing I know he comes over, gives me a big hug and said Boston is where I belong.”
Basketball Insiders