Robert Horry is one of the greatest role players in NBA history, winning seven NBA Championships with the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers and earning the nickname ‘Big Shot Bob’ for his penchant for knocking down clutch jumpers.
What is often forgotten about Horry’s career is his brief time with the Phoenix Suns and the incident with then-head coach Danny Ainge.
Horry was traded to Phoenix in the deal that brought Charles Barkley to the Rockets and the Suns were struggling during that time. In a contest against the Boston Celtics, Ainge removed Horry from the game as he was just 1-of-4 and Horry responded by tossing a towel right in the head coach’s face.
Horry was suspended for two games, but before he could return to the court, he was traded to the Lakers for Cedric Ceballos. Horry was recently asked on Twitter whether he had any regrets about the incident and he had none, aside from wishing there was a brick inside the towel he threw:
No just wished there was a brick in it ??.. https://t.co/vXMRTNf4lQ
— Robert Horry (@RKHorry) May 18, 2022
Horry has since admitted that he hated Danny Ainge from issues during their playing days. Ainge had a developed reputation as a dirty player and a couple of altercations stuck with Horry leading to his disdain for the former Celtics and Suns guard. The fact that Horry still has no regrets shows just how real his hatred for Ainge was and he isn’t alone as many Lakers of the 1980s were not fans of Ainge’s tactics either.
Despite being an ugly incident at the time for Horry, it did lead to the Lakers trade, which brought about some of the most iconic moments of his career and three of his seven NBA Championships. It was truly a case of a negative turning into a huge positive.
Oftentimes with issues such as these, a person will become older and have some regrets for actions that don’t put them in the best light. But Horry feels the same way now as he does then, which goes to show that this was not one of those fake beef incidents, Horry’s feelings about Ainge were, and still are, very real.
LeBron James chooses Anthony Davis’ WCF game-winner as favorite Lakers moment
Horry was known for his clutch shots throughout his career and had many with the Lakers. In the franchise’s most recent championship run, Anthony Davis had his own memorable moment with his game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets.
It was such a big deal that LeBron James named it his favorite moment as a member of the Lakers.
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