Barkley says Bryant actually signed to join the ‘Inside the NBA’ crew but ultimately didn’t go through with it.
Kobe Bryant was viewed as not only one of the best players to ever play in the NBA, but was a charismatic and eloquent personality to boot. In a beautiful parallel universe, the basketball world would have seen Bryant on a regular basis talking basketball on TV's biggest NBA show.
During an appearance on Draymond Green’s podcast, The Draymond Green Show, Charles Barkley divulged that Turner Sports signed Bryant to join the Inside the NBA crew, but Bryant eventually pulled out. Barkley said Bryant didn’t want to do all the promoting of the show that came along with the job. Barkley starts telling the story at the 2:47 mark.
“He didn’t wanna do all the other bulls---,” Barkley said. “I’m probably gonna get in trouble for saying this. But it’s one of the little things that we keep in the cards. He actually signed with us.”
Barkley said they signed Bryant after his retirement in 2016 but when he learned that he would need to regularly promote the show on the radio and do interviews talking basketball, Bryant decided to pull out.
It would have been a sight to see Bryant reunite with his former Lakers teammate in Shaquille O’Neal, not to mention racing Kenny Smith to the board or arguing with Barkley. But we can imagine.
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