According to Phil Jackson:

In high school, Kobe allegedly "sabotaged" games to keep them close enough for him to dominate in the end.



http://www.bareknucks.com/bashing-kobe-excerpts-from-%E2%80%9Cthe-last-season-a-team-in-search-of-its-soul%E2%80%9D-by-phil-jackson

To be completely fair, there were a couple things I did over the years to alienate Kobe. The most glaring example was the interview I gave in 2001 to Rick Telander, a writer I knew in Chicago. Rick asked if I believed Kobe was the heir apparent to Michael Jordan. Assuming, naively in retrospect, that a conversation after the official interview was off the record, I mentioned to Rick that I had been told that in high school Kobe “sabotaged” games to keep them close enough for him to dominate at the end. Needless to say, the quotes appeared verbatim in Rick’s story, sparking a major uproar. (Kobe has never forgiven me. Last Spring, during a particularly acrimonious team meeting, Rick Fox complained to Kobe and Shaq. “The thing that hurts us about this season,” Fox said, “is that both of you have acted like you’re apart from us, and that we’re not any good. We have won championships for each other, sacrificing, and all of a sudden, you turn your backs on us.” Shaq, clearly affected, began to respond when Kobe cut him off. “Quit your crying,” Kobe said. I then jumped in. “Kobe, you’re as much to blame as Shaq is, if not more.” “You’re the one who should f***ing talk,” he said. “You said I sabotaged games.”