Jalen Rose Admits to Breaking Major Unwritten Rule Against Kobe Bryant During 2000 NBA Finals (Video)

by

Sep 20, 2012

It took 12 years, but some skeletons are falling out of Jalen Rose‘s closet.

Rose, a popular NBA analyst and former member of Michigan’s “Fab Five,” spent 13 seasons in the NBA, so he learned a thing or two about what really ticks players off. Appearing on a Grantland podcast, Rose said that the No. 1 unwritten rule in basketball involves sticking your foot underneath a player after contesting the player’s jump shot.

It turns out that Rose broke that unwritten rule on the NBA’s biggest stage against the NBA’s biggest superstar.

Rose admitted — in rather lighthearted fashion — during the recent podcast that it wasn’t an accident when he stuck his foot out against Kobe Bryant in the 2000 NBA Finals. Bryant landed awkwardly, played just nine minutes in Game 2 and missed all of Game 3 (which Rose’s Pacers won).

“NBA Finals, 2000,” Rose recounted during the podcast. “Kobe. Bean. Bryant. Goes up for a jump shot on the right wing, I contest the jump shot, Kobe lands on my foot. He hobbles off, and he actually misses the next game.”

Co-host Dave Jacboy of Grantland then asked about Rose’s intent.

“I think I did it on purpose,” Rose responded.

Think, huh? Well, maybe not so much.

“I can’t say that it was an accident,” Rose said when pressed further on the issue.

Rose admits, however, that karma came back to bite him for his dirty deeds. Bryant’s Lakers, of course, won the NBA Finals in six games that year, and Bryant even recorded his amazing 81-point effort in 2006 against Rose and the Raptors.

As far as grudges go, Bryant has apparently remained friends with Rose over the years, but there is a simple explanation for that.

“He never knew I did it on purpose,” Rose said. “But now he does.”

Photo of the Day

O’s fever is really kicking in.

Jalen Rose Admits to Breaking Major Unwritten Rule Against Kobe Bryant During 2000 NBA Finals (Video)

Quote of the Day

It’s crazy. I thought we were going to play another 15 or 16 tonight. We were doing dancing in there, stuff like that. It gets to the point where you get comfortable in those situations.”
–Joe Saunders, whose Orioles have shown they can win at all hours of the night

Tweet of the Day

Fans getting greedy down there in Baltimore?

Video of the Day

Watch closely, Celtics.

Previous Article

Steve Sabol Called ‘the Steve Jobs of Sports,’ Difference Maker, Visionary by NFL Community Following Death

Next Article

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Ordered by Judge to Pay About $114,000 in Manny Pacquiao Case

Picked For You