NBA legend Kobe Bryant is one of the most fierce competitors the league has ever seen. It is safe to say that he was cut from the same cloth as the legendary Michael Jordan. The Los Angeles Lakers legend’s fierce reputation preceded him. Bryant has had some major beef with some players throughout his playing career. On the other hand, he had some friendly rivals in the league as well. Interestingly, it was not just with opposing players. The five-time NBA champion had some form of friendly rivalry with others as well, including NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith.

Fans dismissed Stephen A. Smith’s claim

It is no secret that Stephen A. Smith is a huge fan of the New York Knicks. During his illustrious career, Kobe Bryant has had some tremendous performances against the Knicks and rubbed it in. Smith talked about the last time he met Kobe and called it the most unforgettable moment in his career. According to a tweet from Legion Hoops, Smith said, “Kobe Bryant & I saw each other 3 weeks before he died… We were at a party… We kept hugging each other for like 15 min… What I remember about that night is I had never seen him that happy ever in all the years that I knew him.” However, most fans were not ready to believe this claim. Here are some reactions:

Many fans commented that Smith was lying about the encounter with Bryant because of his claim about hugging Bryant for 15 minutes. However, it could very well be a figure of speech to express that they hugged for a long time than usual. But the memes were in full swing in the comments.

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Stephen A. Smith is someone who does not care about the repercussions of criticizing superstars in the league. He also does not shy away from criticizing the players he has a friendly relationship with, like Kobe. However, that did not always sit well with Bryant, who sometimes confronted him about his analysis. Smith recently talked about one such incident.

Kobe Bryant was “scary”

Stephen A. Smith recently joined radio personality Howard Stern for The Howard Stern Show. During the sit-down, Smith talked about criticizing players he has a personal relationship with, like Kobe Bryant. While talking about it, he admitted “Kobe is scary”.

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He recounted an incident when he criticized Bryant on TV, and the superstar cursed him out. Smith stated that Bryant was someone with impressive knowledge of the game. Since he was aware of it, he respected Bryant’s views and listened. But the analyst did not change his stance on the criticism and explained his point of view.