Robert Horry Says Lakers Did Him Wrong When He Left

Former NBA star Robert Horry won seven NBA championships during his 16 seasons in the NBA. He recently discussed his outlook on the current NBA in a post for The Players Tribune.

The piece contained a few eye-opening revelations, like the fact that Horry only had a single one-on-one conversation with his former Lakers head coach Phil Jackson during their time together.

Horry also revealed how the business side of basketball left him a little bitter after seven seasons with the Lakers.

Honestly, I left the Lakers with so much hatred for that team. I felt that the way they handled my situation was so wrong. I remember going into the exit meetings after we had won the title and it was my year to opt out. You walk into the meeting and everyone is hugging you, kissing you, praising you.

I said, “I know I make too much money and I know you’ve got a hard-on for Karl Malone.” They had been wanting him for five years, ever since Phil got there. I’m a realist. Tell me like it is and I will respect you more, just don’t go behind my back. I told them I’d stay for $2 million, but they weren’t interested. All I asked them was to allow me to find a team before the money dried up and not to wait until the last day to release me. They told me, “We won’t do you like that.” […] Well, they didn’t do me like that. They waited until the next to last day to release me.

This is what athletes mean when they say, “It’s a business.” Hell yes, we make a ton of money to play a silly-ass kid’s game. But even if you’re the hero, even if you hit one of the biggest shots in franchise history and win multiple titles, your ass can be out the door the next day. […] I actually have five NBA titles thanks to the Lakers. Three from playing with the team, and two from them showing me the door.

There also stories about Kobe Bryant, Rudy Tomjanovich and Hakeem Olajuwon in the piece.