Matt Barnes reveals he got death threats over incident with Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant was one of the most popular and beloved figures in the league. That’s what happens when you’re the undisputed leader and best player for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Matt Barnes, on the other hand, spent most of his NBA career bouncing around and playing for different teams. Known for his physicality, tough defense, and three-point shooting, he was a solid role player but not always a fan favorite.

That became even more evident when he went viral for faking an inbound pass right in Kobe’s face. Bryant didn’t even flinch, and that wound up being one of the most iconic moments of his career because it portrayed his toughness.

Matt Barnes’ Family Got Death Threats After Viral Moment With Kobe Bryant

Barnes played for the Orlando Magic at the time. And despite being a California native, Los Angeles fans didn’t care for what he did, and he actually got death threats because of that:

Matt Barnes

“It was crazy because I was getting super death threats after that,” Barnes told Paul George in his podcast. “I was kind of the bad guy, the villain, whatever. But, I became the real villain after that s–t. People said on Twitter they’re gonna kill me. They’re gonna find my address, kill my kids, kill my girl. ‘Come to L.A. You better never come back to L.A. We gonna kill you.’ You can’t f–k with Kobe. Them eses in L.A. don’t play about the Lakers and [Los Angeles] Dodgers and particularly Kobe. Bro, I got so many death threats. I kid you not.”

Ironically, that moment also made Kobe reach out to him in free agency and recruit him to play with him in the Lakers, knowing that anybody crazy enough to mess with him was also crazy enough to go to war with him.