Kobe Bryant, still ruthless. 😂
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 5, 2017
Catch @JalenRose in "Jalen vs. Everybody" this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/ewcS3jnWNZ
June 5 (UPI) -- The 'Black Mamba' might be past his playing days, but he still has an All-NBA smack talk game. Kobe Bryant showed that in a recent commercial for ESPN.
Starting Tuesday night, Jalen Rose will star in a comedy sitcom called Jalen vs. Everybody. The show will air on ESPN.
In a commercial for the show, Rose enters a restaurant and sees Bryant sitting at a table. He says hello to the former Los Angeles Lakers star and starts asking him about his retired lifestyle. A server then comes up and asks Bryant what he wants to drink.
Kobe orders a vodka martini. After hearing his request, the sever asks Bryant how many olives he wants.
Bryant replies, "81." He then has an awkward stare down with the future Hall of Famer.
"Really?," the server asks.
Bryant then admits to just messing around.
The joke was a reference to when Bryant scored 81 points against Rose and the Toronto Raptors in 2006. Bryant's total in the game stands as the second-most points in a single game in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain famously scored 100 points in a game during the 1962 season.
Rose's career-high for points in a single game was the 44 points he netted in 2002 against the Houston Rockets.
