Matt Barnes Rejected LeBron James And Miami Heat Big 3 To Join Kobe Bryant And Lakers: “F**k Miami, You Wanna Be A Laker?"

Matt Barnes recalls how he declined to join the Miami Heat Big 3 to play with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

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After several years of having a big rivalry, Matt Barnes and Kobe Bryant played together on the Los Angeles Lakers, teaming up trying to extend the Lakers' dominance in the league following back-to-back titles. Unfortunately, that never happened, with Barnes spending two seasons in LA without actually competing for the championship. 

Nevertheless, he did enjoy his time at Staples Center, especially after he got the chance to play with one of the biggest competitors of all time. Kobe Bryant expressly asked Barnes to join the Lakers at that time, and Matt didn't hesitate, not even after having other options on the table. 

At the time, the 2017 NBA champion was a sought-after player in the league and some contenders wanted to add him to their roster, including a team that would go to four straight NBA Finals. 

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Matt Barnes Rejected LeBron James And Miami Heat Big 3 To Join Kobe Bryant And Lakers

During a recent appearance on Shannon Sharpe's 'Club Shay Shay' show, Barnes talked about a variety of topics, including the time he buried the hatchet and ended his beef with Kobe Bryant. He had more options, including the Miami Heat, and Pat Riley and Dwyane Wade called him to recruit him. 

"I was literally talking to Pat Riley and D Wade and they're talking about we're about to build something over here. There's words of him [James] coming and there's words of Bosh coming," Barnes said. "It's right up the free way for me and I'm literally having conversations with Pat Riley."

Everybody was interested in Barnes at that time, but it was Kobe Bryant's call that made everything easier for him, selecting the Lakers at his next team in the association. 

"One day I get a phone call. I'm still out in Orlando chilling, and I get a call from a number I don't know," Barnes continued. "And I never pick up my phone. And I just happened to pick up the phone and it's him [Bryant]."

"He's like it's Kob... We start going back and forth, and he ask me what I'm doing. And I literally tell him I'm kind of back and forth, I'm talking to Miami right now. He's like 'nah f*** Miami, you want to be a Laker. 'And I'm like hell yeah, and like four days later I was a Laker."

Even though Barnes couldn't win a title alongside Kobe, he treasured the moments he lived with the Black Mamba. When Shannon Sharpe asked him which version of Kobe he'd pick, he went with No. 24 and the different approach he had for life off the court. 

"I would pick 24. Just because off the court he was more often as a person," Barnes said.

"I took less money to win... I wouldn't give that up for the opportunity to play with Kob. We became brothers, we shared, I went to his daughter's games, and he came to my boy's games, I wouldn't change it for money or rings," he said.

They went from enemies to close friends, and even when they weren't on the best terms, Kobe always showed his respect for Barnes. They couldn't win a title together, but it's great to see that Barnes achieved something that went beyond the contract or titles he could have gotten somewhere else. Eventually, he would become an NBA champion to close out a career that had everything from bad to good in it.