Lakers: Kobe Forces Building Maintenance Crew To Change Rim Height After Missing Many Shots

**Koolaid_Man** · 01-22-2016

ing Kobe....my was the realest...true narcissist pure Alpha ..well done Kobe...well done

As told by Gerald Henderson from the Players Tribune

So I’m shooting around and there’s still about 45 minutes until tip. Kobe’s on the other end, still shooting, and I’m glancing over at him. Remember, I’m a rookie. I want to see how this guy approaches warm-ups. Maybe I can learn something from him. Steal a move or two.

I looked up and he had stopped shooting. Kobe was up to something.

But it was weird: he was missing more shots than he was making. Honestly, he was missing a lot.

All of a sudden, I looked up and Kobe had stopped shooting. He was holding the ball on his hip with one hand — and motioning to the sideline with the other.

Then all sorts of commotion started.

A crew of maintenance guys showed up from out of nowhere. It looked like a hockey line change — maintenance guys rushing on and off the court. Kobe was saying something to them and gesturing. But from where I was standing, I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Suddenly, there was a ladder being set up under the basket. Kobe’s pointing up at the rim and the maintenance guys are positioning the ladder. A measuring tape is involved.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY

What’s going on? Kobe was up to something.

I’m standing at half court watching the scene play out, and Kobe starts walking over to me.

“Something wrong with the rim.” “Oh yeah?”

We’re watching a guy climb the ladder and tinker with the rim.

“It’s too low. The rim’s a quarter of an inch too low.”

“Huh?” I mumble. I’d never really heard about maintenance issues with a rim before a game.

“What do you mean?”

“I was missing shots that I don’t miss. I’m pretty sure it’s low. A quarter of an inch.”
Then it was over. That was it. Our first conversation. He went back to his shooting routine.

Two things pop into my head: