After winning the championship in 2000, the Los Angeles Lakers retooled a bit. They got rid of Glen Rice and John Salley and added Greg Foster and J.R. Rider . Although these are minor tweaks, Rider was still on top of his game, averaging over 19.3 points a game a season ago. That said, Rider was a headcase wrapped in an alpha male personality. In a team that already had Kobe Bryant , it felt like dealing with a ticking time bomb.
That “bomb” eventually went off in one of the most heated Purple and Gold practices. The Oakland native would go at Bryant and talk smack at the Lakers’ young star. One of these exchanges led Kobe to challenge J.R. to a 1-on-1, which went downright ugly.
“Everybody off the court”
While the young Bean planned for the one-on-one to happen after practice, Phil Jackson had other ideas. According to Brian Shaw, Phil loved bits and pieces of drama like that and immediately ordered everybody off the court. Jackson didn’t need to tell the veterans twice; they all went to get their ice packs, Gatorades, and popcorn, waiting for the show to begin.