One of the late Kobe Bryant’s most memorable moments during his legendary career came at the center of basketball, Madison Square Garden. Bryant torched teams over the years on the road but when he did it to the New York Knicks in 2007, there was some personal blood from Bryant.

Bryant scored 61 points to help the Lakers grab the win but he was motivated by something other than basketball that night. Bryant has spoken about this previously but a former player on the Knicks has confirmed it all well.

Former Knicks forward Quentin Richardson appeared on FanDuel TV and discussed the incredible performance. Within this, he blamed famous Knicks fan Spike Lee for Bryant taking over the year as he did.

“Spike Lee was out there on the sideline talking crazy to Kobe Bryant.”

"Spike Lee was out there on the sideline talking crazy to Kobe Bryant." 🗣️@QRich tells story about the time Kobe Bryant dropped 61-points against the Knicks in MSG 🗽@RunItBackFDTV | #NBA pic.twitter.com/OVw10DxlUS

— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) July 20, 2024

Bryant was in rare form that evening, torching the Knicks for Lee trash-talking. It’s not the first time that Lee has helped opposing players take over games against the Knicks but it’s one of the most legendary.

The former Lakers guard made all 20 of his free throw attempts to help seal the win. He was a man on a mission and he made it clear to Lee to not trash-talk him again.

The Lakers were one of the best teams in the league that season and it ended with them winning the title in 2009. Bryant was on a mission to prove everyone wrong and Lee happened to figure out how to motivate him even more than he already was.