One could find countless examples of Kobe Bryant and his Mamba Mentality. The Lakers legend has inspired even the WNBA rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Many legends too have shared a similar sentiment. And recently, when his former teammate and coach shared a story, a veteran did not like it. He did not oppose the story, but the interpretation from a fan, and it was not the first time he shut down bizarre fan theories.

Eddie Johnson, currently working for Phoenix Suns as a color analyst, expressed his displeasure on X. He tweeted this when a fan shared Brian Shaw’s Kobe Bryant’s story of scoring 62 points against the Mavericks. Shaw narrated that during the game in 2005, the 5x NBA champion wasn’t keen on returning in the last quarter just to boost his scoring record. “Nah, I’ll get it another time when we really need it,” said Kobe Bryant as recalled by Shaw. He further added how Kobe kept his word and scored 81 points against the Raptors, which has now been turned into a statue outside Crypto.com.

The part that Eddie Johnson did not like was where the Chicago Sky rookie was trolled. The tweet mentioned Angel Reese as one of the players in the WNBA who is “SHAMELESSLY stat padding.” Plus, using the Kobe Bryant story as a tool to state that the previous generation of players did not focus on boosting their individual stats.

“You have 0 clue about basketball mentality and growth. You using an analogy, comparing a rookie WNBA player to Kobe in his 9th year. Kobe didn’t care about the points and he told you Why. He said he can go get it again. He knew he could take 30 shots anytime he wanted. Stop!”

You have 0 clue about basketball mentality and growth. You using an analogy, comparing a rookie WNBA player to Kobe in his 9th year.
Kobe didn’t care about the points and he told you Why. He said he can go get it again. He knew he could take 30 shots anytime he wanted. Stop! https://t.co/fVAoojygxh

— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) September 3, 2024

The Angel Reese debate is heating up because she broke the all-time WNBA record for the most rebounds in a single season. A report from last Wednesday claimed that Reese had 53 rebounds of her misses. But, this was not the first time he came in defense of Reese.

After disproving fan’s Kobe Bryant theory, Eddie Johnson stuck by Reese

The co-host of The NBA Today Show on SiriusXM NBA Radio previously too stopped any negative narrative against the Sky forward. A fan on X, in July, shared his perspective on why fans hated Reese more than Clark. The video currently has 1.1 million views, where he took a few examples during different WNBA games to ascertain the “character” of Reese.

The clip was from the game when Chennedy Carter fouled the Fever rookie, which was changed to Flagrant the next day. In the clip, Reese was cheering her teammate for the shoulder push, and the fan did not like the celebration. However, Johnson was quick to disapprove of any character certification.

“😂. If you have never been between the lines competively, please sit this one out. This G rated video is what makes our skin crawl. Stop analysing a sport where you have zero clue about competitive drive and forgetfulness. Its a part of the game. Both players are respected!”

He also avoided getting pulled for the ROTY debate. He did not pick any side, instead said both of them are the same.