Few NBA players embodied a relentless drive quite like Kobe Bryant, and Nick Young witnessed it firsthand. As a teammate of Kobe during his final seasons with the Lakers, Young experienced Bryant’s no-nonsense approach up close. The two shared many intense moments on the court, but one particular story has resurfaced recently. On The 25/10 Show, Young found himself in the spotlight again—this time for a wild NFL take that had even the hosts laughing and saying, “If Kobe was right here,” he’d be mad at you!

It all started when Young was asked about Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields and what made him special. Young’s answer? “His feet,” he said. He elaborated, adding that Fields could run and move like Lamar Jackson. When the host, LeSean McCoy, disagreed, saying, “I’ve never watched Justin Fields like,’Yo, he’s the best. Damn, you seen Justin? He the best.’ I’ve never said that. You’ve never said that.” Young confessed while shaking his head, “At one point… First year, he had a commercial. He was in a commercial… So he was doing something.”

That’s when McCoy was done with him and said, “If Kobe was right here, you wouldn’t be talking like this. Kobe look at you like, and you’d straighten up like, ‘You know what? ‘I’m tripping,’” reminding Young of Kobe’s famous demand for excellence in everything. And Nick Young knows all too well what happens when Kobe’s standards aren’t met.

Between 2013 and 2016, Young and Kobe shared the floor during some of the Lakers’ toughest seasons this century. Even though the team was struggling, Bryant’s intensity never wavered. Young, however, was sidelined with a hand injury, and Kobe didn’t take it lightly. “He didn’t believe I was hurt,” Young once said, recalling how Kobe thought he was just trying to skip practice.

Things escalated quickly. During one particular session, Bryant decided to put Young to the test. “The whole practice, he was throwing me the ball extra hard,” Young remembered. Each pass was a challenge as Young, nursing his injured hand, struggled to keep up. “C’mon man, damn, I told you my thumb hurt,” he recalled.

Eventually, the team’s trainer had to step in, telling Kobe that Young’s injury was real—his thumb was actually broken. Kobe apologized, but the moment perfectly captured what Bryant was all about; no excuses, no exceptions, and an unyielding pursuit of greatness.

Nick Young reflected on Kobe Bryant’s unmatched dedication

During an appearance on the Gil’s Arena podcast, Nick Young looked back on his time alongside Kobe Bryant. When asked about Kobe’s approach to practice late in his career, Young painted a clear picture of Bryant’s legendary dedication. “The first year when he came back from injury, he showed up to training camp, trying to be the first person in the gym,” Young shared. Even after a tough run, Kobe was always leading by example, setting the standard for his teammates to follow.

But things took a lighter turn the next day. Young recalled how Kobe’s ankle injury started catching up to him. “He was like, ‘Nick, I’m good, I’m telling you that old sh** caught up to me,’” Young laughed. Bryant even admitted, “My ankle ain’t right today, y’all got it.” Yet, despite not being able to train fully, Kobe was still putting in work on the sidelines, refusing to sit back completely.

When Kobe tragically passed away in 2020, the world lost more than an NBA icon—it lost the embodiment of his famous “Mamba Mentality.” Despite not having the natural gifts of some of his peers, Kobe’s tireless work ethic earned him a place as the Lakers’ GOAT, a title even Magic Johnson has acknowledged.

In his own words, Kobe once defined the Mamba Mentality as “a constant quest to try to be better today than you were yesterday.” It’s a mentality Nick Young experienced firsthand, learning what it really meant to strive for greatness.