“Anybody else in the league, he gonna shut down. But Kobe?” Even the self-proclaimed “Kobe Stopper” couldn’t deter the Black Mamba. Kobe Bryant was never known for taking any challenges lightly. And when the challenge was facing him right in the face, Kobe would crush the challenger. Former Portland Trail Blazers teammates Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells shared a similar story of how Ruben Patterson was unable to stop the Los Angeles Lakers legend.

On the Sheed and Tyler Podcast, Bonzi Wells spoke about how they hyped Ruben Patterson before a game against the Lakers. Patterson called himself the “Kobe Stopper” having played his first NBA season alongside Kobe in Los Angeles. Ahead of facing their Western Conference foes, Wallace and Co. were in high spirits, claiming they had the “Kobe Stopper” along with other great pieces. Unfortunately for them, though, the Black Mamba saw the interview and in the next game scored 45 points as per Sheed.

Wallace’s harmless jokes provided fuel for Kobe as he revealed to Wallace a few years later. “I saw that sh** with Rube. Kobe stopper huh? Bet all right, man,” Kobe told Wallace. Even though Patterson never truly became the “Kobe Stopper,” he still was a force to reckon with, as Wells alluded to.

He said that Patterson was a one-man gang, he could cover multiple people at once. Even calling him a monster, Bonzi described him as 6’7, 230, or 240 in weight, and could easily bench 350 or 360 lbs. Plus, he had no body fat and was very fast and athletic. “Anybody else in the league, he gonna shut down. But Kobe?… Rube used to play for the Lakers. So Kobe kind of had a feel for him, that he kinda knew, like, ‘I know this kid can’t guard me.’ Man, we walked him into the slaughter,” Wells revealed.

He also accepted that they set him up for this humbling. Kobe Bryant faced Patterson 23 times in his career and ended up averaging 29.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. “Kobe Stopper” last played in the league in 2007. Meanwhile, Kobe had a long, fruitful 20-year career. But what did Bryant think of the alleged “Kobe Stopper“?

Kobe Bryant on Ruben Patterson

Kobe Bryant spoke to ESPN and had an interesting take on the self-proclaimed moniker of Patterson. “Well, I thought that was just a business decision for him. I even called Ruben, I said ‘Ruben, if you needed me to come out and say ‘Ruben Patterson plays the best defense on me out of anybody else in the league’, I would’ve said that for you. I would have helped you get a new contract. Just let me know.‘”

Later on a podcast with PardonMyTake Kobe explained what he would do against his former teammate. “But now you done, you pissed me off. Now you didn’t let me know, now you went out there and mouthed off now I gotta kill you every time I play you and it’s not going to be a good situation.”

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.