Former Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti shared a story about Kobe Bryant ahead of his statue being unveiled today (February 8).
Speaking about Bryant tearing his Achilles in 2013, Vitti stated, "He walked all the way back to the locker room,” Vitti told Medina. “I asked him if he wanted a chair. He looked down at me and said, 'F*** Paul Pierce!'"
Vitti clarified that Kobe was referring to Pierce being wheeled off of the court during the 2008 Finals only to return and help the Celtics beat the Lakers and win the championship.
Kobe's former teammate Metta Sandiford-Artest, who formerly went by Ron Artest and Metta World Peace, also spoke about Kobe's toughness when it came to pain.
While speaking to Mark Medina for Sportskeeda, Metta stated, "He was always in the training room. I know sometimes he was hurt, but it was hard to tell. You could see him in pain and the trainer would tell us how much he was in pain sometimes. We didn’t always know. He was just a tough guy. He was playing through a broken finger [in 2010], and that was wild. I had that, too. I understand playing with pain and coming back from ligament surgery. I remember he would wear a splint. That finger was broken."
He added, "Then during his last years, he was tired. I don’t know how he was running. He had no legs. He was beat. That was tough. But when he got hurt with his Achilles tear [in 2013], that was pretty wild. Just walking off the floor. I thought he just hurt his ankle. I didn’t know he tore his Achilles. He’s walking off the floor? You’re not just trying to sit there and wait for somebody to take you off? That was wild. The broken finger and Achilles tear were pretty impressive."
Source: Sports Keeda
