Kobe Bryant memories from Charles Barkley, Shaq, Draymond Green, Kyle Kuzma, Baron Davis & more

Kobe, number one. He had the master killer mentality.

This guy was relentless.

Relentless. Having somebody like that early on in my career, I mean, changed everything for me.

And I'm probably gonna get in trouble for telling you this. We actually hired Kobe Bryant.

At Turner?

At Turner.

Don't waste my time. You know, Kobe and I used to talk about that. Which is so funny because I always think about our conversations about just being ready and how you show up.

My all-time favorite Kobe moment was when I got the stop on Kobe, he slapped me on the leg. I'm like, "Yeah!" He said, "That ain't have nothing to do with you, young fella. I just missed." You had the opportunity to play with, and in a major way, D-Wade, Kobe, and Penny. You played with Bron. To me, that was kind of the telling in your career. Like, it wasn't your— as Shaq dominant as you were with those guys. When you look at those three guys though, Rate him.

It's tough to rate him because we speak a language, right? And if I say in our language, but it gets out, not saying that your show would do that, but even if you put out a clip, the ones that don't comprehend our language will try to make it look like I'm rating him. But I'm gonna rate him because you're a good friend of mine and you asked me to do it. Kobe, number one. He had the master killer mentality. And I like to say I helped him get that. 'Cause when he first came in, I put the Donovan test on him. "Well, fuck you, you ain't shit. No, don't shoot, fuck that." And it would drive him crazy. You know, you talk about the 5, 6 hours a day in the gym. Yeah, he did that just so he could shut me the fuck up. And I loved it because I already knew what I was going to do. I already knew I was going to give you 28-10 in the playoffs, 35, whatever. But I needed another guy. And I always used to piss him off. You know, you know this very well. I don't know how your team was, but you know for a fact you don't have to be like this to win a championship. You do not. On the court, you have to be like this, but attitudes and you don't have to be like that. So, you know, we used to always go at it and It was, I don't wanna say my fault, but I knew what the fuck I was doing. 'Cause when he came in, he showed me that he wanted to be a dog. He was that puppy that was nibbling on the chair. And I was like, okay, watch this, motherfucker. You ain't, nah, fuck, don't shoot. Shoot it again, motherfucker. So like, it just used to piss him off. And then by the time he got into himself and I kind of had to make a decision, like, you know, Phil was like, listen, let him do what he do in the fourth quarter. And once I made that decision, I was like, you know, and then we was, 'Cause like first 3 quarters, give me the fucking ball. Let me do what I'm gonna do. Let me get us in the penalty. And then because I'm not a great free throw shooter, 4th quarter, I'll step back and you do what you do. And we did that. And you know, he sacrificed, he did. 'Cause he, all those finals where he helped me win a championship, he damn sure could have easily got finals MVP. But that was our plan. Big dog, Gee-Gee, for the first 3 and the 4th, I take over. Yeah. And my favorite game in Indiana was on our first championship where I fouled out and I looked at him, was like, 'Cause if we lose, it's all my fucking fault. Shaq, you motherfucker, you wanna be a rapper, you doing movies and you ain't concentrating on your free throws. I don't know what my percentage was, but it wasn't Black Steph Curry-like. So I already know if we fucking lose this series, it's gonna be my fault. I'm looking at Kobe, motherfucker do me like this. I'm like. And that motherfucker, he had an incredible 4 or 5, like, and then I knew then we was gonna win our first championship. So him for that.

You were called a Kobe stopper and you've talked about being stuck on Kobe Island before.

Don't start that, man. I don't need that on my Instagram feed, man. Don't start that talk.

But what do you think What do you think differentiated Kobe from everyone else? Like there were obviously other tough covers. Paul Pierce was a tough cover.

Yeah, yeah.

You played, before you played with D-Wade, D-Wade was a tough cover. Before you played with Bron, Bron was a tough. What made Kobe so much tougher to cover than all those other guys?

You know, and I did not like Kobe. We were frenemies. We had this like weird passive aggressive like relationship. I never spoke to him. Outside of the gym, but there was no one I respected more for his, for his mind. Look, this guy was relentless, relentless, you know? And I, you know, people ask me like, what do you miss about playing? And I said, you know, getting in the bus and having those butterflies in my stomach going to Staples Center, being like, man, this guy's, this guy's gonna try to score 60 on me tonight. He's gonna try, he's gonna try to embarrass me. He's gonna try to embarrass me tonight. You know? And so like, I always had to be my best, always. And if he scored 20, he wanted 30. If he scored 30, he wanted 40. He scored 40, he wanted 50. He made 50, he wanted 60. I mean, like, he was relentless. And so there was never a player that I ever took a play off, you know? And like, I wasn't fast, but like, you know, I knew how to play everybody and I knew when I could sort of like slough off and take shortcuts. I, I, you couldn't do that against Kobe cuz he was so relentless. And so we had this really weird, um, game that we played. Like some days he'd come out and be all buddy buddy. Hey Shane, how you doing, man? What's going on? And the next day he wouldn't even like, wouldn't even look at me.

Mm-hmm.

Right.

And then the next time he'd be like, oh man, what's going on? And so like, he was always like ice and fire with me, just trying to throw me off. And I had the same mentality. I never looked him in the eye. I, you know, I just was just, I never said, I can't guard Kobe. He's so much better than me. And so in Mamba Mentality, he wrote about this and I didn't read about this till after his passing. And his passing really affected me. 'Cause I always thought I'd have this time to have this conversation with him. So when he passed, it really, really affected me. And I read his page in Mamba Mentality where he said, you know, talking about guys who were Kobe stoppers. And he said, you know, Shane, you know, Shane never talked trash to me because he knew that it'd fire me up. And he never admitted that, like, he could guard me. He's like, but I saw that as false humility and I attacked him because of it. But, but I still respected Shane. I'm like, he's right. He's 100% right. So like, he knew me without really even knowing me. And that's what was special about our relationship. And, you know, we never spoke outside the basketball court. I didn't know him, he didn't know me, but like we knew each other and had this weird like dynamic on the court. And so for me, he was the pinnacle of competition, the pinnacle of excellence, and he always brought the best outta me. And that's why I love him.

Absolutely. Which brings me to my next question. I'd be remiss if I didn't ask this because it's something that really gets under my skin. And you just mentioned it. Everyone nowadays, people have a good game and they're like, "Yeah, I channeled the Mamba mentality." And I'm just like, "Yo, stop it." Like, don't do that. Like, that's not okay. And by the way, if Kobe was still alive, I don't think y'all would be saying that because Kobe will call you out and tell you that's actually not it. Yeah. But like, what do you make of all of these people going on TV like, "Yeah, I got the Mamba mentality, I'm doing this." What do you make of that?

Well, look, you know, Kobe inspired a generation. So all these young guys that came up, they grew up on watching Kobe, you know, him hitting those jumpers and making big shots. And so to them, like, that's their dream. Like, you know, you and I watched, you know, the Pistons and Isiah and Jody and, you know, all these guys, the Bad Boys. That's what inspired us. All these guys are inspired by Kobe. And so, You know, in this Instagram world, you know, you think you know somebody just by watching them and, "Oh yeah, I'm gonna be that guy." But like, there's only one Kobe, you know? And there's only one person that puts in the work and understands the sacrifice, understands the discipline, understands, you know, every single night what it takes, right? And to me, that's what Mamba Mentality is. It's the relentless pursuit of excellence.. And it's not about like, you know, having a big game. It's about like, this is, this is who I am every single time I step out on the court. And that's the hardest thing. It's the hardest thing in life, hardest thing in basketball to be that dude every single time you lace 'em up. Right. And so, you know, it's, I think it's cute that these guys are, are paying homage to Kobe, but man, do it, do it for as long as he did it at that level for as long as he did it. And then maybe we could talk.

See, and you said that better than I could ever say it. 'Cause you know what I say? I fucking hate that shit. I hate when people say that. But you said, you put that better than I've ever heard it put. It's about that pursuit of excellence.

Yeah.

Every single night. Because people don't understand that. Like when you gotta do it night in and night out, these young guys come in the league and they like, I want his spot. I want that thing. I want this money, that contract.

Yep.

And when you have to do that every single night on a soft Monday.

Yep.

And you know who got the worst record? Detroit got the worst record in the league right now. Yep. On a soft Monday, soft Tuesday, you rolling into Detroit, it's 2 below outside and you gotta go do that. You know, like.

Yep.

Then where's that Mamba mentality then?

Yep.

So I definitely can appreciate that. He worked and that irrational confidence just became a part, like you just, it became a part of who he is. But that's the irrational confidence. King, how did that relationship help you, especially early on in dealing with, like y'all was getting y'all ass kicked.

Absolutely.

Lakers fans do not handle that well. How did that relationship help you continue to do what you were doing and deal with the shit that people were starting to say?

You know, the biggest thing he always ever said was keep the main thing the main thing, right? That was one thing. And two, just like, that was like my North Star.

You know what I'm saying?

You may never get there, whatever, but it's what you get out of it is what you're trying to reach, right? So the ultimate professional, take care of your body, playing every single game, having this type of mentality like, you know, like, I'm here for a reason. This is my purpose. Like, my purpose tonight is to kill. My purpose tonight is to go out and help my team win. Like, having somebody like that early on in my career, I mean, changed everything for me. You know, I could say the same thing about, you know, Bron coming year 2 and seeing it from a player perspective. 'Cause, you know, Kobe was here. He was gone, retired at this point. So it was just like, you know, word of mouth, but like, 'Bron, I'm really seeing it too. So, you know, just having that relationship with Kobe, it was, man, it was everything. Like I still have the text messages that we just had, never deleted them, you know, just like, just things to go back on, things to think of. Like, like he was just so, he was just so smart, man, about just everything, putting you on game, just of things you wouldn't even think of. Like the attention to detail that he had in basketball, he had in life, he had it in business, he had it in relationships. And like, that's what I want for my life.

And so Jeremy Lin locker was next to mine. So I got to witness the whole entire thing, bro. From the first game he balled, to the next game he balled. Like, it was like, we got his locker here. We had an empty locker here and it's my locker to where like I was getting dressed. Bro, in like the damn near, in the bathroom. In the handicap stall, I had to hang my shit up. Bro, it was like 1,000 people in the locker room. I mean, you was hooping, right?

Yeah.

So you weren't, I don't know how y'all was looking at it, but he was on CNN, MSNBC.

It was crazy.

MTV, BET, the Weather Channel, VH1, they was all in there. 'Cause I kept having to move my seat out. I'm like, "Damn, what's the Weather Channel doing in here?" It's like Jeremy Lin, "Make It Rain." Chinese, bro, so many China media, it was crazy. They had to move him to a press conference.

I get it.

Yeah.

This is like maybe like 3 weeks before All-Star weekend. He is doing press conferences.

Yeah.

In a full room of people. Kobe came in town. Hey Kobe, don't let this dude bust your ass.

He hot.

You know what I mean? He hot. Don't let him get you, bro. You know, Kobe like, "Psh, come on, BD." I'm not worried about none of that. I'm like, hey yo, he is going to kill you guys tomorrow. And I'm telling you this now, bro, just so when I come in here after the game, right, you not mad at me. So me and him at dinner, and this is all I'm talking about. No matter what Kobe is talking about, all I keep coming back to like, hey Doc, he's going to bust y'all ass tomorrow. And I'm going to show up in your locker room and I'm gonna be laughing. Brody, Lakers come in town. Hey dude, he served the Lakers. And after the game, I went right down there.

He was tight.

Hey dude, Kobe was so tight. He was so tight, he was hot. 'Cause he didn't, you know what I mean? He didn't, you didn't know what to, like this kid had magic. It was just like, it was just some shit that you only see the greats have. You know what I mean? But you see people have these moments on 10-day contracts or like filling in for somebody. Like you see somebody have a great 1 or 2 weeks, but like the attention and the level he was playing at was like, Ridiculous. And then we played Miami and LeBron then was like, "All right, we done with all this shit." It's over, they ended it. They ended it.

Even though the work ain't hard and it's fun, you still have something to do all the time. I tell people, I says, "You still have stuff to do all the time." And that's what, like, if I could just show up at the studio and just do basketball, like, no, I have to do, X amount of interviews a day. You know, you have to go and pump up the show. That's really what's really fun. I'll tell you this funny story. Not many people know this, and I'm probably gonna get in trouble for telling you this. We actually hired Kobe Bryant.

At Turner?

At Turner. But he didn't wanna do all the other bullshit. This is one of the— And I'm probably gonna get in trouble for saying this, But this is one of the, like, the little things that we kept, we keep in the closet. So he actually signed with us, but then when we started telling him, like, you know, I have to do a bunch of radio shows. Like, hey, I go on this show on Mondays. I'm, hey, from Thursday Night TNT, same thing on Tuesday, same thing on Wednesday, same thing on Thursday. He like, yeah, I don't wanna do all that stuff. He says, well, you have to promote the show, Kobe. So Kobe actually is so funny. And like I say, it's probably only 10 people in the world know that, that he actually signed with us. He's like, "Nah, I'm not doing all that other bullshit." He just like, "Nah." But it was funny 'cause like I say, we always had something to do.

Yeah. So wait, hold on. So Kobe signed and he was gonna be on, like just one of the guys on the Thursday night crew?

Yeah.

Wow.

Yeah, he had signed with us, David Levy, my old boss, had signed him to a deal. And we were excited, we were really excited. And then he called me back like a week, 10 days later, somewhere in that timeframe, like, "Yeah, Kobe's not gonna come." We're like, "Why?" "Cause he don't wanna do all the PR stuff. He don't wanna go on radio shows and talk about basketball." I'm like, "Well, that's part of the gig." I mean, people need to know, "Hey, I'm on Thursday night." 'Cause if you notice when you do interviews, they're like, "Hey, welcome from TNT Thursday night, Charles Barkley." Yep. Same thing, you know, you talk to Kenny and Shaq, they always, 'cause that's part of promoting the show. So it was funny though, he didn't wanna do all that. And he never came to work for us.

I have a really hard time trying to motivate people to do something that you should be passionate about, you should love, you should be seeing that it is an honor to be able to play this sport because you could get hurt at any time and not be able to play. So to me, it's like respect the game. And I have a hard time with, like, babysitting people and just trying to— I don't know. I'm just— I'm not built like that. So it's— that's the difficult part for me. You know, I think it's one thing when you talk about, like, high school kids. Everybody, you know, some people sign up. You got to pick the best people you have at the school. Every kid's not that— like, that's not their dream, but they may be athletic enough to make a team.

Mm-hmm.

Okay. But when you're talking about top tier, you're talking about a professional, bro, I don't have time for all the excuses. I don't have time for all the, like, "I was out last night." Like, don't waste my time. You know, Kobe and I used to talk about that, which is so funny because I always think about our conversations about just being ready and how you show up, you know? And the fact that you have to tell your teammates, like, we got a big— we got a game tomorrow, so you might not want to go out tonight. Like, I shouldn't have to explain those things to you because my hard work is a part of what we're trying to build here. And I need everybody. We need everybody to win, you know? That's the hard part. Absolutely. So coaching for me, I'm like, oh, I cannot motivate you to want to win. Like, that's all that I know. I'm so bad. Like, it's spades. I'm this way with everything, though. Spades, backgammon, whatever we playing, bro, dominoes. Like, you don't want to see me in nothing. Tongue, whatever it is, like, I am playing to win. Don't sit down at the table with me if you try— like, what are we doing? I don't like people who just want to play for fun.

Would love to know what y'all favorite era of Kobe was. Was your favorite era 8 or was your favorite era 24? Me personally, I think it's such a tough decision, but I think I gotta go with 8 because 8 is just such a huge part of my childhood. Like 8 is who I grew up watching with the fro. And as you get older, you mature more. And I think 8 just didn't give a damn. Didn't give a damn about anything. Like, 8 didn't care what you thought. Neither did 24, by the way. But 8, man, 8, a part of 8 never had kids. Like, I know what that does to you. Like, a part of 8 was just Kobe growing in the cold, man. And so I think for me, 8 was probably my favorite. Also, when I was a huge fan of, my favorite player of all time was Shaq. I've said that before to y'all. I've said it a million times. That's my favorite player of all time. And I watched Kobe grow up with Shaq, win championships as 8. And so for me, my favorite era is '08. I think my all-time favorite Kobe moment is not one in basketball per se, like one moment, like, oh, 81 points. Like all those is great. And if you're a Kobe fan, you love those things. But for me personally, My all-time favorite Kobe moment was when I got the stop on Kobe. He slapped me on the leg. I'm like, "Yeah!" Said, "That ain't have nothing to do with you, young fella. I just missed." Game-winning shot. Mark Jackson put me in, few seconds left in the game. Like, "Yo, you got Kobe." Whoa. Okay, I think I played 27 seconds that game. I had to get a stop to go and send the game into overtime and then get a stop to win the game. We win overtime. And I think that's the only time I played in that game. But I was hyped when Kobe, in front of our bench, shoot the left shoulder turnaround fade, patented fadeaway, miss. Let's go! That ain't had nothing to do with you, young fella. I just missed. Kept walking.

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