Chandler Parsons was a fresh-faced rookie tasked with guarding Kobe Bryant back in the 2011/12 season, where he earned the Black Mamba’s respect and an expensive night out

Kobe Bryant treated a rookie opponent to a night out in LA
Kobe Bryant treated a rookie opponent to a night out in LA (Image: Getty)

Kobe Bryant once paid an NBA youngster’s $22,000 club bill just hours after facing him on the court.

There are so many stories about the late great Black Mamba’s generational talents and merciless desire to win at all costs. But occasionally, there comes along a tale which also highlights his compassion and knack for looking out for people prior to his tragic death in 2020.

That was the case with party-loving former NBA forward Chandler Parsons in the 2011/12 NBA season.

A rookie Parsons had just been schooled after guarding Bryant in a game at the Staples Center between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets.

Bryant during the final quarter had curiously asked Parsons what he was getting up to later that night. His opponent, believing it to be a classic Mamba mind-game, opted not to answer.

Yet the five-time NBA champion later stunned the youngster when Parsons suddenly received a message from an unknown number with the words “You’re all set at Supper Club,” signed ‘Mamba’.

Chandler Parsons [R] came up against Kobe Bryant as a rookie

Chandler Parsons [R] came up against Kobe Bryant as a rookie (Image: Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“Supper club was the club where the tables were beds. It was awesome, it was nuts,” Parsons told the All The Smoke podcast in 2022.

Parsons, who famously once held a boozy twerk party on an Ibiza yacht with his fellow NBA star Blake Griffin, explained to Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes that Kobe was unable to make it himself.

Party-loving Chandler Parsons went to the Supper Club in LA

Party-loving Chandler Parsons went to the Supper Club in LA (Image: Cassy Athena)
He recalled: “At this point I’m telling the table, ‘Guys I got you. Kobe’s my guy. He set it up. Let’s go.’ 2am rolls round, granted I’m with guys who make hundreds of millions of dollars.

“This waitress beelines for me, at this point my dad’s my financial advisor, he’d get on my a** if I value size my meal at chick-fil-a. Anyway, she’s bringing me this bill, I open it and it’s 22 thousand dollars. At this point I’m sick.

The NBA stars shared a mutual respect

The NBA stars shared a mutual respect (Image: Getty Images)
“This chick looks at me, hands me a pen, and is like ‘sign for Mr. Bryant.’ I’m like ‘what?’ I signed Kobe Bryant on a $22,000 club bill.”

It was then that a rookie Parsons realised one of the greatest basketball players ever had just treated him to a night out, presumably as a reward for his competitive spirit in guarding him.