Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is facing questions on social media about a story he told involving Kobe Bryant and the late actor Heath Ledger.
In a video from a March 2018 Lakers “Genius Talks” event with Dwayne Johnson, Pelinka said Bryant, ahead of a trip to Madison Square Garden, asked to have dinner with Ledger after seeing “The Dark Knight.” According to Pelinka, Bryant wanted to learn how Ledger prepared mentally for the role, and later used some of that in a game against the Knicks.
Online, users pointed out that the timeline does not appear to add up. Ledger died in January 2008, and the film did not reach theaters until July 2008. ComicBook.com noted in a 2018 article that Bryant would have needed a special early screening, and that the Knicks game Pelinka referenced was played on December 23, 2007, before the movie had finished filming.
On Tuesday, ESPN reported that some people within the Lakers organization view Pelinka’s storytelling as a pattern. Pelinka’s side of the story was not part of the coverage we reviewed, and the team had not publicly responded at the time of this report.
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