Kobe Bryant Forbids Teammates from Talking to Super-Fan Jimmy Goldstein

If you’ve watched an NBA game (or post Playoff game press conference) before, then you’ve more than likely seen Jimmy Goldstein sitting courtside with an impossibly beautiful supermodel by his side. In a story for GQ by SLAM’s very own Myles Brown, the legendary fan talks about the somewhat frosty relationship between himself and Kobe Bryant: “I have friends on every team and every team thinks I’m there to root for them. I try to put on a neutral stance as much as possible when I go to the games, with the exception of the Lakers games. The Lakers players are all aware that I root for the other team. With the exception of Kobe, they seem to take it pretty well. Every now and then Kobe surprises me by walking up to me shaking hands and giving me a nice smile. But for the most part, he ignores me. He doesn’t look at me and even went to the extent of telling Pau Gasol not to say hello to me. He’s never explained why. Pau and I were very good friends before he got traded to the Lakers. After he became a Laker, he’s standing at the baseline during the Lakers warm ups and he would never say hello. Finally, during the All Star Weekend a couple years ago, when I ran into him and he wasn’t putting on his ‘Laker face’ so to speak, he gave me a big hug and apologized for not being friendly to me at the games, but told me that it was because Kobe asked him not to be friendly to me. The only other Laker who doesn’t communicate with me or even give me a nod of recognition is Andrew Bynum, who I’ve never spoken one word to since he became a Laker seven years ago. All the other players are very nice to me. I have a terrific relationship with Ron Artest/Metta World Peace. He comes up to me at halftime of every game and has a little chat. During the NBA Finals in Boston, the Lakers had their own private dining room. He insisted that I go into the dining room with him, even though I told him that I didn’t think it was a good idea. So he couldn’t care less that I don’t root for the Lakers.”