Robert Horry was fortunate enough to win seven NBA titles in 16 seasons.
An important role player for championship squads with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and San Antonio Spurs, the 6-foot-9 forward became known as "Big Shot Bob" for his clutch postseason heroics despite never averaging more than 12 points.
Hot off his appearance in NBA TV's recent "Clutch City" documentary about the Rockets teams of the '90s, Horry has penned a piece for The Players' Tribune.
He gets honest about a lot of things, including the Lakers' dynasty of the early 2000s, and his anger over his 2003 release:
The titles Phil (Jackson) won in Chicago translated into titles in Los Angeles. His six rings is what made Shaq get into the gym and become one of the most dominant forces in league history. However, as dominant as we were in that three-peat run, I feel we could've done more if it weren't for egos and complacency. Honestly, I left the Lakers with so much hatred for that team.
I said, 'I know I make too much money and I know you’ve got a hard-on for Karl Malone.' They had been wanting him for five years, ever since Phil got there. I'm a realist. Tell me like it is and I will respect you more, just don't go behind my back ... All I asked them was to allow me to find a team before the money dried up and not to wait until the last day to release me. They told me, 'We won’t do you like that.'
Well, they didn’t do me like that. They waited until the next to last day to release me.
Horry landed with the Spurs, winning two more championships.
Some other nuggets Horry offered are:
- "Rudy Tomjanovich was the best coach (he) ever had", not Jackson or Gregg Popovich.
- Jackson's triangle offense is "just a fancy name for the same plays that 50 percent of the NBA runs."
- Kobe Bryant was the "hardest working player" he ever suited up with.
- "Dennis Rodman was a genius."
Horry is still attached to the Lakers, working as a broadcaster for some of the team's games on Time Warner Cable Sportsnet. With this kind of candor, it would be nice to see him get more burn as a broadcaster.
