By Mark Medina, LA Daily News
Kobe Bryant walked swiftly out of the Lakers’ locker room before stopping suddenly. Sacramento Kings forward Caron Butler stood there, the man Bryant moments earlier had described glowingly as “my brother.”
The two might have only played together for one season during the 2004-05 campaign, but Bryant said they have stayed “extremely close” amid Butler’s various stints in Washington (2005-10), Dallas (2010-11), the Clippers (2011-12), Milwaukee (2013-14), Oklahoma City (2014), Detroit (2014-15) and Sacramento, which handed the Lakers a 112-93 loss on Wednesday at Staples Center. So close that Bryant wrote the foreword of Butler’s recently released biography written by Steve Springer, a book Bryant called “fantastic.”
“He was like my little brother. Now he’s the big brother over there,” Bryant said. “It’s been great to see his development. It’s great to see his growth. I’m very, very proud of him.”
So proud of him that Bryant has called him one of his favorite teammates, along with Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher and Ronny Turiaf. How does Bryant explain viewing Butler in such terms after playing one season in which the Lakers missed the playoffs for the first time in 11 years?
“He and I hit it off really well with guys that shoot straight from the hip,” Bryant said. “They don’t BS you and do silly stuff. Because of that, he and I have been extremely close from Day One.”
From Day One, the preconceptions Butler once held about Bryant quickly evaporated.
Shortly after the Miami Heat traded Butler to the Lakers as part of the Shaquille O’Neal trade in 2004, Bryant became eager to teach Butler anything he wanted to know. Bryant soon visited Butler at his mother’s house in his hometown of Racine, Wisconsin for a dinner that featured about 30-40 family members and friends. Nearly a decade later, Butler called Bryant writing the foreword of his book “one of the biggest moments of my life.”
“People always said he was not easy to be around,” Butler told Los Angeles News Group. “That was totally wrong.”
Butler saw a different side of Bryant simply by showing his curious nature.
“We just always talked,” Butler said. “A lot of people don’t communicate and don’t talk. They would get on the buses and they’re in their own world. But I always was picking his brain. I learned and saw things from his point of view and the circumstances he was going through.”
The reasons for Butler’s inquisitiveness seemed obvious. Butler wanted to learn anything he could from Bryant, whom Butler considered “the closest thing to Michael Jordan that we’ve seen in our generation.”
Bryant’s receptiveness made Butler feel “special.” Butler reported Bryant “was always available,” whether it entailed answering those questions, working out together late at night or seeking personal help. Butler sensed Bryant became open toward sharing those moments after because of two things.
Bryant respected Butler’s work ethic. Bryant also soon learned Butler’s life story that entailed spending his teenage years as a drug peddler, in a juvenile attention center and in prison before changing his life.
“When I first came into the NBA, I never shared my story with anybody,” Butler said. “But when Kobe came to my house and saw me around my environment, I think he saw a lot more of the other side of my life and how I approached the way I played. I was always prompt with practice. I never quit on drills or anything like that.”
Bryant also saw one of Butler’s vices, which entailed drinking Mountain Dew.
“He’d be like, ‘What are you drinking that stuff for?’” Butler recalled Bryant saying. “He was always talking about taking care of yourself and taking care of your body.”
Bryant and Butler have kept in touch through the good and bad.
The two dined together when the Lakers visited Sacramento two weeks ago. Bryant and Butler also consoled each other after a preseason game in October when both learned that former Lakers teammate Lamar Odom was taken to a nearby hospital after losing consciousness at a Nevada brothel. Bryant visited him that night.
“It was sad and it was real frustrating,” Butler said. “It was good to know that Lamar had somebody who cared about him.”
It was also good for Butler to know that Bryant has viewed him with similar affection. Hence, the two chatted for a few minutes in a Staples Center hallway before giving each other a big hug.
“Life after basketball, he’s a friend that I have for life,” Butler said of Bryant. “We are forever connected. For him to support me and be someone I could always call a friend, that is special.”