“He Really Was Cold Stone”: Over a Decade After the Iconic Kobe Bryant Moment, NBA Veteran Shares His Favorite Memory of the Black Mamba

There is no doubt that the Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant left a huge impact on the basketball community when he passed away in a tragic accident. It has been three years since the devastating incident took place, but the NBA world continues to remember the 5x NBA champion through fond memories. To commemorate one such memory of the Hall of Famer, a former NBA star recalled one of the most iconic moments that fans had witnessed during a decade-old Lakers game.

Considered one of the best basketball players in the league’s history, Kobe Bryant is a name that will forever be etched in fans’ minds. The sports legend and the doting father of four served as an inspiration to millions of young basketball players and will probably continue to do so for the next generation.

Former NBA star guard reminisces about a significant Kobe Bryant moment

In the latest episode of Gil’s Arena podcast, former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas sat down for a brief chat about NBA legend Kobe Bryant. Joining him on the couch were his co-host Josiah Johnson and fellow NBA veterans, Brandon Jennings and Nick ‘Swaggy P’ Young. As the segment ensued, Johnson reminded viewers that it was the 13th anniversary of the memorable Orlando Magic vs Los Angeles Lakers game.

In 2010, former Orlando Magic star Matt Barnes made an attempt to intimidate Kobe by faking a pass right at his face. However, Barnes ended up making a fool of himself when the Black Mamba stood his ground without even a slight flinch. Johnson then asked Arenas to share his best Kobe Bryant moment on the show.

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The 3x NBA All-Star talked about the same Kobe incident and said, “Actually that is a great memory because 99.9 of us would have flinched…’Oh well! you got me.’ So, just to see the mentality of him in the moment. Like, we all say we’re gonna do something but we really never know until it happened. So to see what Matt did and he really was cold stone! Just lets you know that he was really just a different dude.”

Lakers legend recalls having to play through pain

As the conversation progressed, Johnson moved on to Nick Young who had a rather interesting incident to share. Given that the Lakers veteran had also played alongside Arenas, Young revealed that both Kobe and Arenas had the tendency to get ‘crazy’ at times.

He said, “Kobe broke my thumb and didn’t think he’d broken it and told me to still practice. And at practice, he was hitting my hand and throwing the ball on hard and I was telling him like, ‘Chill man, it’s really broke, listen to the people.’ He’s like, ‘Nah, he ain’t hurt. You trying to get out of practice.’ So he kept passing the ball hard and I was hitting it down and it was crazy.”

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Young concluded by saying that he ended up having a torn ligament in his thumb and the Hall of Famer was among the first people to call him up and wish him well.

These Kobe stories continue to mesmerize fans, and we can only hope they keep on coming.