“Come On Man! Get Off the Phone!”: In an Era of No Mobiles, Kobe Bryant Gave Ex-NBA All-Star a Memorable Story From Basketball Camp

Kobe Bryant‘s journey from a young, aspirational basketball player to one of the most well-known athletes in the world is nothing short of amazing. Despite being the son of former NBA star Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant, Kobe Bryant forged his own path and left a lasting impression on the game of basketball. Even his fellow NBA All-Stars are in awe of his extraordinary talent and strong ethic. A former NBA All-Star recently discussed a moment he had with Kobe Bryant, while he was at basketball camp.

Shareef’s best story of Kobe Bryant

Shareef Abdur-Rahim, during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, talked about the best story he could recall of Kobe Bryant. The duo had known each other since their late teens and remained close friends until Bryant’s tragic demise in 2020. However, for Shareef, the incident that took place while they were waiting in line for a payphone back in their high-school days was what he remembers most fondly.

Bryant and Abdur-Rahim attended the ABCD camp together when they were 18 and 16 years old. Young basketball players had the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities and perhaps catch the attention of college recruiters in the program. In the era of no mobiles, players had to use payphones if they wanted to get in touch with someone. The incident occurred while the duo was waiting in line to call their parents.

Shareef recounted, “I could remember like I had a good day at Camp. He had a great day at camp. And him being ahead of me on line and him talking to his parents and had to be, you know Jelly Bean and Pam. And him telling him you know stuff he was doing. He had dunked on the guy and everything that day. And him telling them this. And I’m like I’m behind him, like man. Come on, man! Get off the phone. I gotta…I want to call my mom.”

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Shareef expresses his admiration

In the same interview, the ex-NBA All-Star expressed his admiration towards the late Los Angeles Lakers legend. He said, “Kobe went from being like Jellybean’s his-dad-played-in-the-NBA son, to, like, you know, his own deal…always, you know, talented, always focused. But he turned into something iconic and probably top-whatever player of all time.”

Kobe Bryant’s accomplishments on the court are endless. Besides his five NBA championships, he was an 18-time All-Star. He has earned two gold medals at the Olympics. The receiver of two scoring championships, he was also NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the 2007–2008 campaign. He remains the fourth-highest scorer in NBA history with 33,643 points.

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As one of the greatest ballers to play in the NBA ever, Kobe Bryant will always remain in our hearts, as Shareef will surely agree!