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Smush Parker Regrets Not Reconciling With Kobe Bryant

Smush Parker is most famous for his two years with the Los Angeles Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant. The two still own the record for most combined points by a starting backcourt-duo in NBA history with 94.

In the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, Parker played in all 82 games both seasons, starting every game except two. He averaged 11.3 points, 3.2 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense without a true point guard.

But even though Kobe Bryant was Parker’s backcourt partner, he wasn’t allowed to speak to him:

“He told me one day at practice — I tried to talk to him outside of basketball about football. And he looked at me in practice and was dead serious and said, ‘You can’t talk to me. You need more accolades under your belt before you come talk to me.”

Smush and Kobe never really got along while playing together. Something that did not change after Parker retired from the NBA. In 2012, Bryant said that Parker was the worst teammate he’s ever had and that he shouldn’t have been in the NBA.

Unfortunately, with Kobe Bryant’s tragic death, the two never got a chance to talk out their differences, something that Parker now regrets:

“The toughest pill to swallow on today for me has been the fact that I didn’t get a chance to verbally speak with my brother to not only reconcile our differences but to find out if he actually had a relationship with The Lord Almighty. As today proves no matter how successful we are in life, when God calls for His breathe back our time here on earth is up. And if we don’t invest our time wisely here on earth, our life in eternity can be a very bad ordeal.”