Lakers News: Fans Sent Kobe Bryant Rival Death Threats After On-Court Dust-Up

14-season journeyman wing Matt Barnes, who would eventually enjoy a two-season stint as a Los Angeles Laker, initially emerged as a heel in the narrative of legendary LA shooting guard Kobe Bryant, when their two teams squared off against each other in the 2009 NBA Finals. Bryant's Lakers triumphed in five games over Barnes' Orlando Magic.

In a subsequent matchup, Barnes faked a pass directly into Bryant's face in an effort to freak him out, but a dialed-in Bryant infamously did not react.

Barnes would later try to win with Bryant rather than against him, though their Lakers teams never made it past the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

In a fresh conversation with LA Clippers All-Star forward Paul George for his show Podcast P, Barnes (who also hosts his own podcast, All The Smoke, with fellow longtime NBA wing Stephen Jackson) explained that the Lakers fans' reactions to the moment were, well, a bit intense.

“It was crazy because I was getting super death threats after that,” Barnes said. “I was kind of the bad guy, the villain, whatever. But, I became the real villain after that s—. People said on Twitter they’re gonna kill me. They’re gonna find my address, kill my kids, kill my girl. ‘Come to L.A. You better never come back to L.A. We gonna kill you.’ You can’t f— with Kobe. Them [fans] in L.A. don’t play about the Lakers and [Los Angeles] Dodgers and particularly Kobe. Bro, I got so many death threats. I kid you not.”