'Kobe Bryant Would Never Be Wheeled Out': Lakers Legend Pokes Fun At Jayson Tatum ‘Dying On The Floor’ After Achilles Tear

Jayson Tatum’s season, and perhaps his world, came crashing down around him when he suffered an  Achilles tear in Game 4 of this season’s Eastern Conference Semifinals. Gut-wrenching, the moment was. Byron Scott and Olden Polynice somehow decided that heart-breaking moment garnered criticism, taking a dig at the Boston Celtics star during their conversation about NBA athletes showing grit.

On the Fast Break podcast, they highlighted one player whose determination to fight and give his best, even when injured, stood above the rest: Kobe Bryant. The Lakers legend proved time and again that he was cut from a different cloth.

During a game in 2009, he dislocated his right index finger during a game against the Indiana Pacers, but instead of leaving the game, he just snapped it right back into place. Then, in 2013, he tore his Achilles against the Golden State Warriors but shot two free throws and left the court on his own feet (even though he would be carried through the tunnel later).

“Jayson Tatum takes a step to go get the ball – pop,” he said. “He’s on the ground, damn near dying. I mean, he’s rolling around, you can see the agony…” 

Polynice went a step ahead and decided to mock Tatum, mimicking his facial expression and groaning noise from when he was in pain. Was it cool on the part of a perennial journeyman to do that? Definitely not, especially when his reactions to injuries were rarely tame. But Scott kept going on.

“He’s on a wheelchair. I was like, first of all, Kobe would never be wheeled out… Kobe would never be down, right? The most gangster sh*t I have ever seen on the basketball [court] – walks up, makes the two free-throws and walked out,” the three-time NBA champ added.

But to be fair to Tatum, not all Achilles injuries are the same, and different players have different pain thresholds. It’s also important to note that Bryant suffered his injury during the regular season, in a year when the Lakers weren’t really considered contenders, when he was already 34. Tatum had a legitimate shot at defending a title and is only 27 years old.

So, his cries and devastated reaction could simply reflect the crushing realization that a long-term injury would derail his team’s championship hopes, and potentially his career. And it did, at least the hopes of repeating, as Boston went on to lose the series to New York.

The fan reaction to Scott’s mocking was less than positive, as they have been to anyone who has joked about the major injury. Even though most of the league’s supporters despise the Celtics, comments sections all over the internet have wished him the best and defended him from detractors.

Kobe also wasn’t above crying, as one of his most iconic images, of him teary eyed while holding the Larry O’Brien trophy came after “crying hysterically” in a shower stall.

In an interview, the late Bryant once said, “Mental toughness means, when you’re going through a really tough time, your body’s sore, whatever the case may be. Can’t get through his particular thing.” 

“To me, being mentally tough means you can take your mind someplace else and concentrate on that other thing to the point where that thing that was bothering you, is no longer a focus,” he declared.