Anthony Davis meet Ruben Patterson.
Yes, the long-lost ex-Cincinnati star and former NBA player, who last played in the league in 2007, once called himself “The Kobe Stopper” for his perceived ability to shut down Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant with good defense.
Now Davis, who is the presumed No. 1 overall pick out of Kentucky, told The Dan Patrick Show on Thursday that he’s excited to face Bryant. Though it came after some prodding from Patrick, Davis admitted with a laugh that he aspires to say he shut down the future Hall of Fame guard.
After Davis said he’s looking forward to playing his Kentucky teammates at the next level, Patrick answered with the following: “You don’t want to go against LeBron (James) or Kobe (Bryant) or Dwight Howard?”
Davis: “You know, Kobe, he’s a monster. So I want to just go out there and try my hardest. You know, there’s a lot of guys who can’t stop Kobe. So if I stop him, I’ll be one of them guys who can say, ‘I shut Kobe down.’”
Patrick: “Be careful what you ask for, Anthony. He listens to the show, and he’s got a great memory.”
Davis: “Tell him I’ll be waiting.”
We should mention that Davis said much of this with a faint laugh, according to a video of the interview from the Ball Don’t Lie blog via CSNChicago.com below, as if he knew he was providing good radio.
Patrick wanted an answer, and Davis gave him an honest one. For Davis’ sake, we hope it works out for him better in the long run than it did for Patterson.
