I take it none of you here have NBATV?
On the postgame show Kobe joked with Ernie that he was trying to get GW to contribute to his charity. It was hilarious. Both players were talking ****. No one said anything about it being an actual bet. It's not like Kobe went all Jordan-gambling-addict for all to see.
Trash talking like this (and worse) happens in most NBA games. Try getting seats nearer to the court and you'll see, er, hear what I mean.
"Why can't we tell the world that [as the Raiders' coach] you refused to play games in the segregated South, holding out to the point where they were canceled?' And he would stop me dead in my tracks and say, 'Hey, kid -- I didn't do it for publicity. I did it because it was right.' "