The late, great Kobe Bryant never needed a reason to rip an opponent's heart out on the basketball court. He came to every game intending not only to give the Los Angeles Lakers a victory but also to assert his dominance over the poor soul assigned to guard him that night.
On one occasion, that player turned out to be versatile forward Chandler Parsons . And according to Richard Jefferson , who was Parsons' teammate on the Dallas Mavericks , he was doing so well that they couldn't help but cheer him on from the bench.
However, as Jefferson recalled, Parsons would have none of that, fearing that Bryant would wake up and try to humiliate him every trip down the floor.
This story took place during the 2014-15 season. At that time, Bryant was 36, playing in his second-to-last NBA season. Meanwhile, the then-26-year-old Parsons was in his prime and was one of the rising stars in the league.
So, as Chandler got a stop against Kobe, Richard remembered how the Mavs' bench roared in approval.
"It was Chandler Parsons was playing against Kobe. Chandler is so funny. So Chandler's guarding Kobe, and he's right by our bench. So Kobe pulls up, misses it. I'm like, 'Yeah, Chandler, lock that s—t up. Lock that s—t.' Like, the whole bench just tries to hype up Chandler," RJ narrated .
"So he goes back on offense, on defense. Chandler Parsons comes running back towards our bench. 'Guys, cut it out. Cut it out,'" Jefferson added with a huge smile on his face.
Parsons did not want the smoke with the Black Mamba. Despite Bryant making a paltry 37.3 percent of his shots, including a woeful 29.3 percent from long distance, Chandler did not want to make him angry and have him torch him, as he had so many others in his illustrious career.
Channing Frye also shared a similar story; only this time, it involved LeBron James.
Frye was playing for the Phoenix Suns and recalled how the reserves were eager to get the King off his game by talking trash to him whenever they had the chance. However, an assistant coach knew better and warned them against it, reminding them that they were only poking the bear and would ultimately suffer the consequences.
"I told the story before about how our assistant coach told the bench guy, 'Shut the f—k up,' 'cause he started talking s—t to Bron and Bron gave us like 18 in a quarter!" Channing said. "'Shut the f—k up. Leave him alone!'"
"And Bron shot a fadeaway, and he looked at the bench, and our defensive coach got up, stood, and goes, 'Man, shut the f—k up. Shut up," the sweet-shooting big man continued. "And then PJ Tucker goes, 'Damn it.' He goes, 'He's too little.' Backs him down. Eight straight points from that same spot."
Trash talk may be a way of life in the NBA, but as these stories clearly indicate, players must be wary of whom they're conversing with on the court, as doing so may cause far more harm than good.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
