“I Just Got Off a Helicopter and You..”: Kobe Bryant’s Peculiar Analogy Left Mr. Basketball in Shock and Kevin Durant in Disbelief

One thing many fans might not know of the 5x champion is just how much time he spent in the air during his career. Kobe Bryant was known to even take his helicopter for home games in Los Angeles. He reportedly once flew Steve Blake to a doctor’s appointment via his personal chopper. Well, it wasn’t just convenience that the air travel brought Kobe. It was confidence too.

During his recent interview with VladTV, Sebastian Telfair revealed an intriguing tale of the Black Mamba. In particular, the former Mr. Basketball spoke of the time when he was on the receiving end of Bryant’s trash talk. Since joining the league in 2004, Telfair shared the court with Bryant numerous times and was well aware of his trash-talking. But the former NBA journeyman revealed one of Kobe’s most unique verbal disses. 

The 2004 US Mr. Basketball recounted, “Kobe was like ‘Man, you know how I know y’all can’t guard me?…I know y’all got here on a bus,'” Sebastian Telfair stated, expressing how confused he was since every NBA team travels by bus from the hotel to the arena. “He said ‘I got here on a helicopter. I just got off a helicopter and you got off a bus. It’s a bucket.’ And I’m just sitting there just stuck,” shared Telfair.

The 11-season veteran also shared the story with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, leaving them stunned. “And I remember sharing that story with KD and Westbrook…KD looking at me like ‘I’m bout to go ask Kobe.'” Despite being highly touted as a high schooler, Sebastian Telfair would never reach the heights of his SLAM magazine cover co-star, LeBron James. Telfair played his last NBA season with the OKC Thunder in 2015. But it was plenty of time for him to witness the greatness of the Black Mamba. He would end his story with, “Shoutout to Kob man. That’s a legacy that we’re gonna miss.”

While that must have been the champion’s humorous way to motivate himself, that moment remained etched in Sebastian Telfair’s memories. True indeed, Bryant was often seen using helicopters for his games and important events, and for a good reason. 

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Why did Kobe Bryant travel via helicopter so often?

The Los Angeles Lakers legend had this unimaginable passion to win that you would think he was obsessed. Undeniably, he was obsessed with winning to some extent. But he never let that come in between him and his family.

Kobe once elaborated on the convenience of using a helicopter, stating that it enabled him to fulfill work commitments and still be present to pick up his daughters from school. He couldn’t let the traffic steal his precious time that he could have spent with his family or practice. 

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At first, he opted for helicopter rides to shorten his commute from his residence in Orange County to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where he conducted his practice sessions. That indeed allowed him to be more focused on practice while he was able to dedicate time to his family and kids. He might have used it once or twice to flex on his opponents but he was, after all, the Black Mamba.