Kobe Bryant was known as a player who would rather shoot than pass the ball. Because of that, he was often labeled as a ball hog, especially late in his career when he played on bad and mediocre Los Angeles Lakers teams.
But on one occasion, when former teammate Chris Duhon showed him a stat sheet showing LeBron James putting up a triple-double, the Black Mamba showed that he could do what LeBron does if he chose to.
"'Sh**, you'll never get one of them because you a** never pass,' Duhon told Kobe. "He started laughing and he was like'I'll bet you $5,000 I get a triple-double the next game' and I'm like 'Bet it.'"
Kobe proved his point to Duhon
Duhon played with the Black Mamba during the 2012-13 NBA season when the Lakers were already past their championship window. Although they made the playoffs that season as the 7th seed in the West, getting there was a struggle, and Bryant had to do the heavy lifting.
That year, Kobe took 10 more shots per game than any teammate and averaged at least 10 more points than anyone on the squad. But during that particular game, Duhon said Bryant came one rebound and one assist short of a triple-double by halftime.
"If I wanted to, I could get a triple-double every game," Kobe told Duhon after the game. "But my team needs me to score. And I want to take the hearts out of anyone that's guarding me and the other team, knowing that they can't stop me. That's just the Mamba mentality. That's just his mentality. He just wanted to go out and compete at the highest level and be the best player on the court at all times."
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Who won the bet?
Kobe proving to Duhon that he could do what LeBron does if he wanted to was one thing, but the bigger story here is which player won the bet. While Duhon said that Bryant was 1 rebound and 1 assist shy of a triple-double at halftime, he didn't say that the five-time champion had a triple-double in that game. Well, that was because he didn't.
Bryant only had two triple-doubles that season, but none came after LeBron had one. But after King James recorded a 31-10-11 against the Raptors on January 23, 2013, Kobe had a 14-9-14 game against the Utah Jazz, where he took only 10 shots in 34 minutes two days later. That was most likely the game Duhon was talking about. And there was more.
Including that Jazz game, Kobe averaged 16.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 13 assists per game while taking just 11.3 FGA per game in his next three outings. Bryant missed a triple-double by one rebound in the first two and by two rebounds during the third one. So, while Duhon won the bet, perhaps the one-time MVP intentionally missed getting a triple-double in those games because he didn't want to. But nearly getting there at will proved that he could if he chose to.
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