Kobe Bryant has always been extremely outspoken. Over the summer in a feature on the black mamba in Sports Illustrated, Bryant referenced Deron Williams’ 0-9 game against the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. It was the worst shooting performance of Williams’ career.
Bryant said Williams, who dealt with ankle injuries all of last season, “psyched himself out“. “‘I would go 0-30 before I would go 0-9,” Bryant said. “0-9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game, because Deron Williams can get more shots in the game. The only reason is because you’ve just now lost confidence in yourself.’”
Williams was asked about this during the Nets media day and he had this response:
