“Winning takes precedence over all,” said Kobe Bryant once. In the predawn darkness of countless mornings, when most of the world still slumbered, Bryant was already in the gym, carrying on with his ‘Mamba Mentality’. But beyond his personal dedication, Bryant also had a lesser-known passion: mentoring the next generation of basketball talent. From Jason Tatum’s polished footwork to Devin Booker’s lethal mid-range game, the Black Mamba‘s influence continues to slither through the NBA. Now, a touching revelation has been made by a former Golden State Warriors forward that adds another chapter to Bryant’s coaching legacy.

In the recent episode of ‘All the Smoke’ podcast, Joakim Noah stated to Matt Barnes that his twin kids were killing it on the basketball court, asking where they learned to play basketball so well. It is then that Barnes disclosed something that not many might know, “The twins started being able to move around with me in my last four or five years. So they got meet Kobe, he was uncle Kobe because he met them and he started giving them shoes, he was around that, he was around CP, Blake… They always liked it. But they were kids so they loved video games.”

The meeting of his twin sons and Bryant was well documented by the former small forward through his social media in 2019. It can be speculated that organizing the birthday surprise was possible because Bryant and Barnes had formed a good bond when they were both teammates in 2010-2012.

“Then in there 10th birthday I took them to go see Kobe for a surprise birthday and he trained them and I kinda think that lit the fire,” said Barnes during the podcast.

The twins, Carter Kelly Barnes and Isaiah Michael Barnes were born in 2008 to Matt Barnes and his ex-wife Gloria Govan. They both celebrated their 8th-grade graduation in May 2023 which was well documented through their joint Instagram channel by the name ‘thebarnesboys‘ which has over 36k followers. Although much information is not available about their playing career, it was found that they used to play for the basketball team of Crespi Carmelite High School. Now, they are in their sophomore year.

As the basketball world continues to feel the void left by Bryant’s passing, stories like these remind us of the deeper legacy he left behind. Beyond the championships, MVP awards, and highlight reels, Kobe Bryant’s true immortality lies in the countless lives he touched and the basketball knowledge he freely shared even with the children of former rivals. However, did you know about the main insight that Kobe Bryant gave to the twins which changed their perspective?

Kobe Bryant’s advice to the Matt Barnes’ twins

The Barnes twins were always destined for greatness. Growing up under a champion father and getting to meet numerous NBA legends from a young age were destined to fuel the twins’ love for basketball. However, it was a candid conversation with Kobe Bryant that provided the twins with the harsh reality they needed to turn their aspirations into tangible goals.

During an episode of the ‘Truth Lounge Show’, Matt Barnes revealed that during the twin’s first meet with Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers legend had spired the boys in a very young way, “And I’ll say there, Kobe, rest in peace to our dawg. Had a surprise. He had a surprise workout for them on their 10th birthday. I took them out to Orange County and they worked out with Kobe. When they came into the gym ‘whats up’, hug, ‘whats up uncle Kobe’. So where you guys wanna go college? And simultaneously ‘we are going to UCLA, and Kobe’s like no you are not. Your dad said you like to play video games so you might go to school to be a student and not play basketball, said Barnes during the podcast.

Barnes also added later that it was after two years when the advice by Bryant finally clicked for the boys and they started taking basketball seriously. Inspired by the legacy of Kobe Bryant, the twins are now showcasing their talents in their sophomore year.