Crowder revisits trash talking with Kobe Suns have meltdown in loss,
Jae Crowder remembers having some pregame words with Kobe Bryant his rookie year.
KB: “You ready young fella?”
JC: “You ready old head?”
Oh wow.
“And I should’ve
Crowder said.
With this week being the one-year anniversary of Bryant’s tragic death from a helicopter crash, the now Phoenix Suns
never
said
that,” forward relives facing his favorite player growing up his rookie season in 2012-13.
Oct. 30, 2012: First meeting
A second-round pick in the 2012 draft out of Marquette, Crowder was set to play in his first NBA regular-season game for the Dallas Mavericks — against Bryant and the Lakers at Staples Center in Los
Angeles.
This was also the debut of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard joining forces with Bryant as the two-time MVP Nash went from Phoenix to the Lakers via sign-andtrade.
Crowder checked into the game with 3:09 left in the first quarter.
“I came in as a defensive player,” Crowder said. “So I was the guy when I checked into the game, I had Kobe. Of course I’m a young guy and I had Kobe.”
Crowder shot
“‘Gimmie that s--t,’” Crowder said he yelled at Bryant.
The official game book doesn’t have Crowder recording a block, but he did swat away a Bryant layup attempt the fourth and final game against the Lakers on April 2, 2013 in Los Angeles.
Regardless, the reaction Crowder describes Bryant having sounds very believable when thinking about how the five-time NBA champion was on the court.
“He looked at me like, ‘You sure you want to do that? You sure that’s what you want to do?’” Crowder recalls. “He looked over at Vince Carter like, ‘You better get the young fella. You better get young fella.’ Vince was like, ‘Chill out. Chill out Kob.’”
Crowder said he was just talking out of instinct after making a play, but then realized who was on the other side of that trash talk.
“I don’t know if I wanted to do that,” Crowder said.
Crowder is credited for a steal on Bryant with seven minutes left in the first half of that game.
Crowder finished the game with with eight points, all coming in the second quarter as he hit two 3s in helping Dallas win, 99-91, in his NBA debut.
A month later, the Lakers and Mavericks met again in Dallas.
recalls
blocking
Bryant’s
November 24, 2012: ‘You ready old head?’
Being a rookie, Crowder recalls having to arrive at American Airlines Center early.
Getting out of his car, Crowder sees a black truck pull up.
“It was Kobe getting out,” Crowder said. “He was there early, too.”
Crowder said Bryant looked at him and said, ‘You ready young fella?”
“I looked back at him and said, ‘You ready old head?’” Crowder recalls. Oh really?
“And I should’ve never said that,” Crowder said. “I had the worst game.”
Crowder actually had a pretty good game.
He scored 15 points, shot 3-of-7 from 3, had four steals, four rebounds and two assists, but the Lakers mashed the Mavericks, 115-89.
Bryant finished with 19 points with one of his baskets coming over Crowder as he took ‘young fella’ to the rim for a driving layup.
“He had that look in his eye,” Crowder remembers. “He had that ‘Mamba Mentality’ look. It was crazy.”
What happened while having dinner with his mom and uncle after the game was crazier.
“We sat in front of a TV and it was highlights of what Kobe did to me,” Crowder said. “I’ll never forget that. I’m
like, I don’t know why I talked crap to him before the game. I should’ve have said nothing, but definitely showed me, ‘Yeah, I’m Kobe.’”
Crowder and Bryant had another memorable conversation later in the season.
Feb. 23, 2013: ‘You’ve got to sell the pump fake’
Crowder remembers going to the gym the night before Dallas played at home against the Lakers on Feb. 24.
This became a routine for the rookie while in Dallas with coaches.
While shooting on one end of the court around 9 or 10 p.m., Crowder sees Bryant walk into the arena with his shooting coach on the other end of the court.
“He stops his workout and he looks down at me,” Crowder said. “I was pump faking. I remember the drill. I would pump fake from the 3-point line and do two-dribble, one-dribble pull ups. I’d pump fake or jab step.”
Hold up, young fella.
“‘Hey, you’ve got to sell the pump fake, you’ve got to sell your jab. I got to believe you’re going to drive it if I ever want me to bite on your jab.”
Huh?
“He was like, ‘Look.’ He showed me,” Crowder said. “He was like, ‘You’ve got to sell the jab. He was telling to jab extra hard, fake it extra hard. Don’t BS fake it. Ain’t nobody going for that. You’re going to be going right into a defender. Like sell the jab.”
Noted. Filed.
Memorized forever.
“That stuck with me,” Crowder said. “Like sell the jab. Whenever you want to jab, you’ve got to sell it.”
Respect earned.
“As a young guy, I’ve played him twice already,” Crowder said. “This is my third matchup against him. He obviously respects what I do. He respects me for being in the gym at that time of night. I felt like that’s when I gained the respect from him as a basketball player in this league. That was very important.”