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Lakers: Kobe Bryant ‘Sucker Punched’ Samaki Walker Over $100 Debt in 2002

Back in the glory days of the Los Angeles Lakers, the beef that many fans remember is the infamous one between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. However, one beef that was largely swept under the rug was a 2002 ordeal between Kobe and Samaki Walker that left Walker with a black eye.

There was minimal coverage about the incident at the time considering that a Lakers player had a black eye and something had to be said, but then head coach Phil Jackson made it seem like it was nothing as he said it was an “isolated incident” and that it wasn’t “of any importance.