Remember when Dwyane Wade broke Kobe Bryant’s nose during the 2012 NBA All-Star Game?
Sure you do.
But Kobe doesn’t.
Fine, yes he does. But he’s not holding any grudges nearly four years later. He and Wade are cool—super cool, actually. That’s the vibe you get from the story that the Miami Heat’s shooting guard shared with Turner Sports’ Rachel Nicols.
We defer to Nicols:
Way too long for 140 characters, but here’s the Kobe story Dwyane Wade told me: This was last month, the night before the Heat hosted the Lakers here in Miami. Wade decided to stop by the arena and get in a soak in the cold tub. He goes through the Heat’s locker room area, back over to the training room, and who is already just sitting there in the tub…Kobe Bryant. Wade told me in the 13 years he’s played for the Heat, he’s never ever seen Pat Riley let an opposing player into the inner sanctum like that, using the team’s facilities, and that frankly, he was shocked. Of course, that’s the respect that Kobe has earned, and the two old friends had a great, long talk. At the end of it, Kobe asked Dwyane if his sons were coming to the game the next night. Dwyane said no, as it was a school night, and Kobe said, ‘you know what, bring them, I think it’s going to be my last time here.’ Dwyane brought the boys, they got a lifetime memory after the game taking pictures with Kobe, and the Wade family got a little sneak-preview of Kobe’s retirement announcement before anyone else.
Pictures. Cold tubs. Subtle hints at retirement. Late-night trespassing.
This anecdote has everything.
While mostly a feel-good, off-beat story, though, Wade’s tale provides further insight into the respect Kobe garners around the league, even now, as shoots his way into retirement.
Advanced analytics will always have a weird relationship with Kobe. Opposing fans, too. Even Los Angeles Lakers’ loyalists will find themselves with mixed emotions when he’s actually gone.
There doesn’t appear to be diverging feelings within the NBA’s brotherhood, though. Kobe is less than a shell of his former self, but his peers and those who coached or played against him during his prime continue to treat Bean with the utmost of reverence.
Respect, after all, is just a two-syllable description of unbridled cold tub privileges.
