Kobe Bryant showcased the pinnacle of brilliance as a basketball player while winning five Championships for the Los Angeles Lakers. As much as Bryant was able to live up to his parents, Joe and Pam Bryant’s aspirations, his decision to marry Vanessa Bryant (nee Laine) against their wishes ruined Bryant’s relationship with his parents. The disagreement resulted in years of estrangement between Kobe and his family, with his parents basically cutting ties with him.
Russell Westbrook’s former OKC Thunder teammate, Sebastian Telfair, recently appeared for an interview on Vlad TV to talk hoops. During the show, he gave his two cents on Kobe’s parents selling his championship ring replica and other memorabilia for money.
While speaking on the topic, Telfair went off on Kobe Bryant for not fending for his parents under the garb of focusing on the NBA. Telfair understood the situation quite well as he had experienced the same with his parents when he married his ex-wife. However, the 38-year-old claimed that he would never understand how someone could prioritize winning titles in basketball more than taking care of their family.
Telfair argued that Bryant’s parents had prepared him to become the perfect player for the NBA, who would not shift his focus from basketball. However, that eventually ended up backfiring for them. Speaking to DJ Vlad, the former Mr. Basketball USA said, “He [Kobe] was focused on basketball. That’s what they [his parents] f**king wanted him. That’s how they wanted him. He’s f**king perfect for the NBA, can’t even function enough to talk to your f**king parents. Maybe, that got nothing to do with him winning the f**king championship. F**k the Lakers, ni**a.”
The former OKC player argued that if he were in Kobe’s place, he would have never neglected his family. “I wish I would have got my f**king money so I could just give everything to my parents, just ’cause I really had the f**king money,” he added.
Telfair admitted that he wouldn’t want to badmouth a person who is no more in this world. However, he couldn’t help but go on a passionate tirade on how Kobe was wrong for not taking care of his parents.
Kobe Bryant once tried suing his parents for selling his memorabilia
Kobe Bryant’s life wasn’t all a bed of roses. Despite achieving almost every laurel in the NBA, his relationship with his parents only worsened with passing time. In 2013, Kobe accused his mother, Pamela Cox Bryant, of taking his memorabilia without his permission and trying to sell them in an auction.
Pam, however, argued that her son had agreed to hand those valuables to her himself, which Kobe vehemently refuted. Bryant eventually decided to file a lawsuit against his mother, accusing her of stealing his memorabilia, worth $1.5 million, from his and his wife Vanessa’s house.
Bryant was shocked beyond comprehension when he found his mother had already earned $450k from auctioning his memorable jerseys, shoes, and other mementos. In fact, Pam even reportedly bought herself a house from the money that she had earned from selling Bryant’s things.
