Kobe Bryant’s legacy in the NBA is nothing short of extraordinary.  His infamous ‘Mamba Mentality‘ which is a slogan for the relentless pursuit of excellence and unwavering focus became synonymous with his approach to both sport and life itself. After the untimely passing of the legend in 2020, numerous players have shared their experiences with Bryant; and with Trevor Ariza, the stories still continue.

In the recent episode of the ‘UNINTERRUPTED‘ podcast, the host, Iman Shumpert put a question on the table for the 39-year-old former small forward. Shumpert wanted to know about the lesson that Ariza had gotten from playing alongside Bryant. Ariza reveals the LA Lakers icon was always so prepared, that he was thinking the next two plays ahead of everybody. Nearly impossible to break him then, but also a real challenge for his opponents.

“The man, when you line up against him, just know he’s going to try to kill you every second that he’s in front of you. So in knowing that, somebody can think like that, you don’t give nobody else no opportunity to try to get at you that way. You always gotta be on guard. You always gotta be prepared,” said Ariza during the podcast.

Ariza played alongside Kobe for about two seasons and played a whole lot more against him throughout his career. So he witnessed Bryant being the absolute motivator for his teammates, and not in the kindest of ways, but also saw him thinking ahead as an opponent, like his practice to face Allen Iverson after he had even made Michael Jordan trip on his feet.

Steve Stoute once revealed Kobe had gathered 10 young guards to avoid the same fate. “…he stood at the foul line and they would come in like an assembly line and he would guard them, try to trip them, take him to the hole and then run back to the line before the next guy came,” he had explained. Or even like the time he had out-smarted the best of defenders, Scottie Pippen, during the 2000 Game 7 of Western Conference Finals by sneakily passing the ball to Shaq after making everyone believe he was going to make the basket. They would win the game eventually.

So if anything, thinking ahead, especially during games, would be the lesson to learn for Ariza.

“So like while you’re in action and you, you paying attention of what’s going on you gotta understand what’s gonna happen the next play and then the play after that. And that’s one thing that I learnt from him,” said the 39-year-old during the podcast.

But Ariza had a few more to learn about through his near two-decade long career and not necessarily on the court.

As we reflect on Kobe Bryant’s impact on basketball, Ariza’s words offer a new dimension to appreciate. They challenge us to look beyond the stat sheets, and consider the subtle, psychological aspects of the game that often go unnoticed. However, Bryant wasn’t the only person, he had made a revelation about.

Trevor Ariza revealed an unknown quality about Vin Baker

The former Lakers player revealed an unknown quality of Vin Baker during the podcast that even resulted in a comparison with Shaquille O’Neal. But Why Shaq? The seven-footer has become a household name because of his larger-than-life personality and quick wit. There have been numerous instances, from Late Night TV shows to interviews, that Shaq showcased his off-court ability to make people laugh. The same was the case with Baker, at least as per Ariza.

Ariza revealed that Baker was the funniest man that he had ever played with. The 39-year-old also stated that his form of humor was quite different of that from Shaq. The former Laker even shared an incident that resulted in the cast bursting out in laughter.

“So I call his phone like three times, he don’t answer. I get to the movies. I see this [Baker] trying to hide in the corner of the movie theatre,” said Ariza “I called his phone… He picks the phone up… He flips the phone up, he look around, he don’t see me. He closed that and put it right in his pocket. At this time I’m like man, you know what… I walked down, I’m like ‘man what’s up with you?’ He be like ‘bruh’, like that’s not even for us.”

Vin Baker’s hilarity or Kobe Bryant’s intensity, Trevor Ariza has lived it all in the NBA.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger