Kobe Bryant is one of the best shooting guards to ever play the game. He has been a loyal man to the Los Angeles Lakers and won five titles with him. He has won the Finals MVP two times in 2009 and 2010. Kobe had also played a huge role in the three-peat from 2000 to 2002. He was the leader of the team.

When he passed away, the whole basketball community ended up mourning. He was inspirational and was known for his “Mamba Mentality”. A never say die spirit to win the game, like Michael Jordan.

He had some detractors during his lifetime. Rapper Vince Staples was among them. He has talked about his feelings for Kobe openly.

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So, it was surprising when in a recent interview, Staples preferred the Staples Center to be renamed after Kobe Bryant. In December 2021, the Staples Center was renamed the “Crypto.com Arena”. The deal was reported to be valued at $700 million over 20 years.

Kobe Bryant and Vince Staples

Vince Staples was asked about this name change during this interview. He said, “It’s a weird thing to drive past or like even see because it’s been that way my whole life… My personal opinion is you don’t like Kobe don’t die and you don’t name the arena after Kobe, that’s the weird thing.” He mentioned that Kobe got on his nerves but he still found him a nice guy.

Staples has talked about Kobe before in his interviews. But not in such a flattering manner. He talked about the time when he was enrolled in Kobe Bryant’s “camp.”

He said, “So [we] sitting over here… [Kobe] had three bodyguards, and he’s sitting down… He stand up like, Yeah, you know, I’m Kobe Bryant, I want to thank everyone for coming out. You work hard enough; you can get to where I’m at or close to what I’m doing, so you know, just work hard.’ And he just walked away, and we never seen him again. We were up there for a week waiting for Kobe to pop back up.” Since he has mentioned he is a fan of the Los Angeles Clippers.

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Did Vince Staples actually have a change of heart regarding Kobe Bryant? Discuss and share it in the comments below.