Shane Battier Jokes About the Time Kobe Bryant Torched Him for 56 Points in Three Quarters

Shane Battier will never forget getting destroyed by Kobe.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

Remember the time Kobe Bryant torched Shane Battier for 56 points in just 34 minutes of action? Probably not. Kobe has scored 50-plus points on lots of guys. But he really put it on Battier. There’s footage of it on YouTube and everything:

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

Battier remembers the game well. He was a rookie with the Grizzlies during the 2001-02season when it happened, and he didn’t stand a chance. According to him, Kobe could have easily gone for 70 points that game—if not more—if Phil Jackson hadn’t rested him the entire fourth quarter.

Battier made an appearance on ESPN's The Dan LeBatard Show today and was asked about the game, and he went into great detail about it. He was stuck on what he refers to as “Kobe Island” that game and, unfortunately, he didn’t make it off of it alive. But he has a sense of humor about it—and thanks to a stat that only he knows about, he feels good about how he stacked up against Kobe later in his career.

“I am proud, though,” he said. “I struggled with him a lot. But by the end of my career, in isolation situations, he only shot 34 percent…I framed that stat! It’s in my house hanging.”

Ha. Listen to Battier talk about trying to defend Kobe in the clip above.

Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.

Latest in Sports