Gordon Hayward says he was a goal on the defensive finish of the courtroom due to his pores and skin color.
Hayward appeared removed from upset when discussing the matter this week, as an alternative having fun about it on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.
“For whatever reason, when you see the white guy guarding you, it’s like, ‘Let’s iso him and go at him,’” Hayward mentioned. “And so that you gotta hope that you simply get to cease that the primary time, or else they’re simply going to maintain going at you each single time. And I undoubtedly wasn’t the worst defender on the staff, however for no matter purpose, you test within the recreation and [they say] ‘We’re going at him. We’re going proper at him.’
“When we played the Lakers one of the years and they had Ron Artest… he looks at me and then looks back at Kobe and he’s like ‘Hey Kob, just throw me the ball in the post man. Look who’s guarding me. I’ve got Bieber guarding me.’” @gordonhayward tells an unbelievable story… pic.twitter.com/pH05TFlUje
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) August 7, 2024
“I’m telling you, there’s just some sort of stereotype. It’s like people’s eyes light up. I remember, and this probably didn’t necessarily have to do with the fact that I was white, but maybe it was like my face and hair and everything. But when we played the Lakers, I think it was pre-season one of the years, and they had Ron Artest. I checked in the game and he looks at me and then looks back at Kobe and looks at me and he’s like, “Hey, Kobe.” He’s like pointing at me like, “Just throw me the ball in the post, man. Look who’s guarding me. I got Bieber gardening me.” And positive sufficient, you already know he simply posted me up and Ron Artest was actually good, I had no probability. I imply, what are you able to do? At that time, what am I going to do? What am I going to say to Ron Artest?”
To be honest to Hayward, he was an above-average defender in his prime, even when he wasn’t elite.
The former Jazz and Celtics star is now retired after enjoying his closing season in 2023-24 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
READ MORE: Kobe Bryant’s Epic Message to Gordon Hayward Revealed
