Reggie Miller Details His Brawl With Kobe Bryant Over an Unwritten Rule

All anybody can talk about today is unwritten rules after Fernando Tatis Jr. had the unmitigated gall to send a 3-0 fastball to the moon last night, which upset old people because apparently his team was supposed to quit trying.

Reggie Miller told a story on The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday about a similar instance in which Kobe Bryant broke an unwritten rule by taking a shot with the clock winding down in a blowout and the brawl that ensued.

"You're gonna win the game. You're up double digits," Miller said. "What you're supposed to do is take the violation. let the shot clock run down so there's only six seconds left, I take the ball out ... we go home. You don't try to jack up a three to get your stats or whatever. So that's what Kobe was doing and he and I were having words about that, and that's what led to the fight."

I'm generally against unwritten rules of any kind, but this scenario is at least a little different than the one Tatis found himself in. Baseball is the one sport where there's no argument for not scoring as many runs as you can, because you still have to go out there and throw strikes to the other team. Obviously with a clock in basketball, Kobe knew the Lakers were going to win that game.

But you know what? Kobe wasn't just going to give you a turnover. Play to the whistle. And what do Kobe and Fernando Tatis Jr. have in common? They're both incredible to watch because they don't quit. So you can take your unwritten rules and stick 'em where the Sun don't shine.

Fuck unwritten rules and RIP Kobe.