Lakers: Kobe Bryant Once Cursed Out Charles Barkley For Criticizing Him

Mamba (cursed) out!

Charles Barkley sure never holds back his opinions. His filter is so thin that he's often self-editing his thoughts after they've left his mouth. This isn't a bad thing, it's great for Barkley's job. Barkley also gets it right a lot. For every clip of Barkley saying something hilarious and preposterous, there are a lot of him nailing a topic and saying it more honestly than other people, because he can get away with it.

Barkley was on “The Pat McAfee Show” and recalled one time when he criticized  Bryant during TNT’s postgame show because the Mamba barely took any shots after halftime in a game against the Phoenix Suns. Barkley is clearly referring to the 2006 playoffs where Bryant reportedly decided to not take any shots. Bryant was making a point that was honestly worth making, but that's beside the point.

Mamba Bites

Barkley tells the story that Bryant was not terribly happy.

“He called me from 1 o’clock in the morning until 4 o’clock in the morning, cursing me out like a dog. It was all in text (message). We were going back and forth and I was like, ‘Yo, would you please call me?’ He called me every name in the book.”

Barkley goes on to say that he even got this same treatment from LeBron James after he criticized his play. Barkley points out that he's complimented the play of both Bryant and James, but that they only seem to come at Barkley when he's criticized them. 

"So I learned...I have to just deal with it."

Indeed. Barkley needs to understand that as a pundit and prognosticator, people are going to reference his words far more often when they have a problem with what he says. Such is the way of being a member of the media.