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- Chandler Parsons recalled an awesome moment that unfolded the first time he met Kobe Bryant
- The forward shared how the legendary guard hooked him up after a night on the town in Los Angeles
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Most professional athletes have a “Welcome To The Big Time” Moment; a game or play where they suddenly realize they’re competing against the best athletes on the planet on the world’s biggest stage (and one that usually comes at their expense).
Based on what Chandler Parsons had to say during a recent episode of All the Smoke, it would appear that moment unfolded on April 6, 2012 when the Rockets faced off against the Lakers in Los Angeles during his rookie year.
While Parsons had played a few meaningless minutes when the two teams faced off in L.A. earlier in the season, he’d risen up the ranks to the point where he was given the unenviable task of guarding Kobe Bryant.
Prior to the game, Houston head coach Kevin McHale warned Parsons about the mind games Bryant would play—saying he’d be “offended” the first-year player was defending him—and while Kobe would ultimately post 28 points, the Rockets ultimately walked away with a win in a game where Parsons posted a +13 differential (although the forward apparently misremembered the end result based on what he had to say in his recollection).
In the fourth quarter of the game, Bryant—who knew Parsons had played in Houston with Jordan Hill before the latter was traded to the Lakers a few weeks before the showdown—offered to hook him up with a dinner reservation.
While Kobe’s opponent thought he was simply trying to get into his head, Parsons was out on the town following the contest when he received a text informing him he had a spot with his name on it at the Supper Club that was signed with “Mamba.” As he explained on the podcast, that was just a preview of the hospitable treatment Bryant extended to the rookie:
“I’m bringing coaches, I’m bringing trainers. We have a blast. We have the craziest night ever…
2 A.M. rolls around—granted, I’m with these guys that have made hundreds of millions of dollars—and the waitress beelines right to me with the check. I’m like, ‘Oh, s—t.’
My dad’s my financial advisor at the time. He would be on my ass if I value-sized my combo meal at Chick-fil-A, and she’s bringing me this bill for god knows how much.
I open it and it’s like $22,000. At this point, I’m sick. Physically. I’m like, ‘No. I can’t do this. This card’s going to bounce.’ I’ll never forget: this chick looks at me, hands me a pen, and says, ‘Sign for Mr. Bryant.’
I sign ‘Kobe Bryant’ on a $22,000 club bill. Everyone was like, ‘He’s tough. He’s going to go at you’ and I’m like, ‘This dude is cool as f—k.’ He was awesome.”
What a guy.