“He called me from 1-4 in the morning cursing me out like a dog” - Charles Barkley shares hilarious Kobe Bryant story as he talks about criticizing NBA players on air

Kobe Bryant had some bad games in his NBA career, as did every other basketball player, but many of them do not like the criticisms that come with it. Sometimes, it is not exactly a bad game, but more about not meeting lofty expectations set by fans.

While the fans are often hard to reach by players, except for someone like Kevin Durant, who is not afraid to clap back at his detractors online, most of the superstars have to take the criticism without saying their piece.

In cases like that, NBA analysts who are easily "accessible" such as NBA analyst Charles Barkley sometimes hit back at fans too for their harsh criticism of players. Barkley hilariously pointed out an experience with Kobe Bryant.

Speaking on the Pat McAfee Show, he talked about how he often compliments players but does not get any calls from them. He cited an example with the legendary Kobe Bryant saying:

"Kobe Bryant, who I love, and rest in peace. I said for like three or four years, five years that he was the best player in the world. The one night against the Phoenix Suns where he didn't take any shots in the game in the second half. We had that game on TNT, and I went off on him after the game saying, 'Kobe, I've always liked you, but what you did tonight was bogus. You didn't take a shot in the second half. You were trying to prove a point, you didn't have any help.'"

Barkley further elaborated on the strange times at which Bryant would call him:

"He called me from 1 o'clock in the morning to 4'oclock in the morning cursing me out like a dog. The thing that was bad about it, Pat, it was all in text."

However, Barkley did go on to say that the pair eventually "patched" things up:

"He called me every name in the book. Obviously, we patched things up."

Barkley also talked about how LeBron James came at him on occasion when he criticized him.

"I always laugh. These dudes never call me when I talk about how great they are. But I criticize them one time, they call me and say I'm the worst SOB in the world."

For some players, it might be seen as rubbing salt on their wounds, as many players know they had a bad game and do not need it to be further lamented. For Kobe Bryant, these bad games were few and far between considering how long he played the game. So, perhaps in the rare instances where he didn't perform well, Barkley should have cut him some slack.

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Kobe Bryant's NBA career highlights and awards

Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers takes a free throw against the Denver Nuggets

Kobe Bryant played for 20 seasons, winning five NBA championships and making 18 All-Star appearances. The Black Mamba was also exceptional on both ends of the floor, making several NBA All-Defensive teams.

The Los Angeles Lakers are a storied franchise and are tied with the Boston Celtics for most NBA championships (17), but they were only relevant in the 21st century because of Kobe Bryant. He gave his all to the game, and to date remains the only player with the same winning mentality as Michael Jordan.

Scoring was Kobe Bryant's forte as he won two scoring titles in 2008 and 2009. He is also ranked fourth on the all-time scoring leaderboard behind King James and ahead of His Airness.

In 1,346 games played throughout his career, Kobe averaged 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.4 steals. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and both his jersey numbers (8 and 24) hang in the rafters at Staples Center.

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