Former NBA player Tim Thomas, now the head coach of Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey, recently addressed a long-standing urban legend about him being on Kobe Bryant’s ‘hit list’ during high school.
Thomas, in a candid interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, emphasized, “[…] Kobe is a legend. One of the GREATEST ones to ever play the game.”
Laughing off the rumors, Thomas clarified the story, recounting a time during the AAU circuit when Kobe, Richard Hamilton, and Vince Carter played on his team.
He stated, “[…] It wasn’t nobody f***in’ with me, whatsoever, aigh’t? And that story basically — Kobe, Rip (Richard Hamilton), and Vince Carter came to play with me during our AAU circuit.”
He debunked the notion that Kobe’s 50-point game against him determined their rankings, saying, “So, what really happened for Kobe to even get close or be mentioned as the number #1 player was at ABCD Basketball Camp.
“We was at that camp together and I was playing against Jermaine O’ Neal’s team and I dunked the ball and I ripped off my fingernail the very first night of the camp.
“So I couldn’t play in the camp anymore the rest of that week so obviously Kobe being the assassin that he was, he ended just KILLING the rest of the week and now it’s Kobe’s number #1, Tim’s number #2, you know?
“It’s all based off what was your opinion and that’s how that played out. Rip was somewhat close. Kobe did have 50, they did win the game but that wasn’t the determining factor of the opinion base where people said, Well ok. Kobe’s number #1 and Tim is number #2 yada yada… It was ABCD Basketball Camp. ABCD Camp is where Kobe took his next step.”
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