Former Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes explained how Hall of Fame guard Kobe Bryant had his back in a unique way during their playing days. While former Lakers teammates have been open about Bryant and their experiences with him, Barnes told a story about how Kobe would credit him as a loyal teammate.
Barnes would often earn fines for defending teammates throughout the regular season, and Bryant would help him pay those fines, he said, per the Out The Mud podcast.
“I probably lost over half a million. My fines were never because people fucked with me. My fines were always taking up for a m***********,” Barnes said. “I used to take up for my team. I wasn’t a bully. I wasn’t the toughest guy. But if you fucked with one person, like I used to get whooped if my brother and sister got in a fight, and I didn’t fight with them.
“So these are my family. I took up for every star on our team, and the only motherfucker to pay my fine when I took up for him was Kobe. All these other rich m************, you know who you are. I still fuck with y’all. I got hit with 30, 40, $50,000 fines, and they say ‘Appreciate you MB,’ nah man, f*** that, pay that s***. You’re making $30 million. Cold game, bro.”
Matt Barnes says he lost over $500,000 in NBA fines and only Kobe ever paid him back
“I probably lost over a half a million. My fines were never because people fucked with me. My fines were always taking up for a motherfucker”
“I used to take up for my team. I wasn't a bully. I… pic.twitter.com/jHekh2raFw
— dank (@cptdankkk) June 20, 2026
Matt Barnes played two seasons with the Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant from 2010 to 2012.
Carmelo Anthony’s Jeremy Lin story about Kobe Bryant
Hall of Fame forward Carmelo Anthony told a funny story about Jeremy Lin that irked the late Kobe Bryant during the Knicks’ Linsanity era in 2012. Amid a string of breakout games, Lin, heading into a matchup against Bryant and the Lakers, Anthony warned Kobe about Jeremy, he said, per the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast.
“We’re about to play the Lakers, and I’m laughing and joking with [Kobe],” the Hall of Famer recalled while speaking to Lin on the former’s “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast. “‘You gonna get your a** bust.’ He’s like, ‘By who? who the f*** is Jeremy Lin?’ When he said that [in the media], it stemmed from the conversation we had just had the night before. And he was tired of me talking about [Lin] to him.”
Carmelo Anthony tells the back story of Kobe Bryant saying he didn’t know who Jeremy Lin was during his Linsanity run
Melo said he was texting Kobe the night before they played the Lakers, letting Kobe know Jeremy was about to ‘bust his ass’
Melo says Kobe was tired of hearing… pic.twitter.com/L5ISi4121Z
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) June 12, 2026
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