For any perimeter player who played in the 2000s and early 2010s, there was no matchup more terrifying than Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant . Not only was the 6'6" wingman incredibly skilled and possessed a game so refined that he had counters to every defensive maneuver his foe had for him, but he also had a confidence that was so unshakeable that he dared to let his defenders know there was nothing they could do to stop him.
A player who felt this firsthand was former Sixth Man of the Year winner Jason Terry . Although the reliable off-the-bench scorer stood only 6'2", he never backed down from anybody, including Kobe. And during the 2011 playoffs, the Black Mamba was surprised by how tightly Terry was guarding him.
But what was more surprising was how Kobe responded to JT's defensive intensity.
As terrific as Kobe was during the regular season, he raised his game to new heights in the postseason. However, in the 2011 playoffs, the Lakers faced a new challenger in their quest for a third straight NBA title: the Dallas Mavericks .
As the two squads began their showdown in the West semis, JT made it a point to set the tone early, bumping Kobe and letting it be known he would be in the latter's grill all game long.
"You knew with Kobe Bryant , for whatever defensive tactic you had, he had a counter. Some of the games I had against him are just blackouts because you knew you had to bring it. If you didn't, you were literally going to die on the court," Terry recalled .
"Also, in this game, he made it a point to tell me, 'Jet, you too close. Why you so close to me?'" Terry shared. "I said, 'Bro, I got to stay on you.'"
"He said, 'But there's nothing you could do,'" he added.
What made Kobe the most lethal scorer of his era wasn't just his supreme physical attributes or elite basketball ability. He also played the game with his mind. Aside from relentlessly studying film and knowing his opponent's tendencies, he also knew how to get in his defender's head; Jason said that interaction was a fine example of it.
"He would say little stuff like that to you. Like, bro, there's a whole game going on and you having a whole conversation. What are you talking about? First of all, I didn't say nothing to you. Second of all, just play the game," Terry stated, relishing the memory. "But he always had little stuff like that. Then he wouldn't say nothing else for like two quarters. Just a killer, man."
The Mavs, though, embraced the fact that the Lakers had to be knocked out to pave the way for them to the title. That was precisely what they did, doing it via a resounding 4-0 sweep.
"There was a saying we always used in the locker room: 'The road to a championship always goes through the champion.' So we knew, to be champions, we had to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers," Terry stressed.
JT played a significant role in the Mavs' second-round drubbing of the Lakers, as he averaged 19.8 points per game on 58.7 percent shooting. More than anything, he shot the lights out from beyond the arc, going 13-for-19 from long distance, thus opening the floor up for his teammates to do more damage.
As for Kobe? He averaged 23.3 points and struggled to get going, no thanks to the Mavs' swarming defense on him.
Related: "I got 10 fingers" - Young Kobe Bryant on how many NBA championships he was aiming for
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
