Retired Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant and former NBA player Jalen Rose have had a long history dating back to the early 2000s.
In the 2000 NBA Finals, Bryant infamously twisted his ankle after landing on Rose’s foot, a move that Rose would admit many years later was intentional.
Bryant got his revenge years later in memorable and humiliating fashion, dropping 81 points on Rose and the Raptors. Rose, who was in the late stages of his career at the time, spent chunks of the game standing in front of Bryant pretending to be a defender.
In recent years with Rose becoming a media personality, the jokes regarding Bryant scoring 81 points on Rose have increased in volume and creativity. While not much of a sport on social media, Rose has seemingly taken the jokes in stride on TV and in interviews with Bryant through the years.
It all reached a new level on Monday when Rose and Bryant starred in a commercial for ESPN in which Bryant roasts Rose one more time.
this kobe bryant and jalen rose commercial omg pic.twitter.com/iEgWbUjcHb
— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) June 5, 2017
As always with ESPN, this commercial was spot-on and the perfect amount of self-deprecation from Rose. While he’s not a Laker fan favorite, props to Rose for willingly taking part in this commercial.
Bryant has become more open in his retirement and has appeared on ESPN numerous times as part of his #MuseCage pieces breaking down the NBA.
If this is any indication of what Bryant will be like in his retirement, then I can’t wait. Here’s to Bryant going on a revenge tour in commercial form over the coming years. I’ll be eagerly awaiting commercials with Ruben Patterson, Mark Cuban and Raja Bell.
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