In the NBA circles, Kobe Bryant is the immortal figure. Five years later, his name still appears in important conversations, especially during major events, not because of nostalgia but because even in his absence, his influence rewrites what’s possible. From hot takes of former players to old clips of the Mamba Mind, it is still dominating the hearts and minds of the fraternity without any doubt. So when Antoine Walker recently claimed what a 45-year-old Kobe would look like, it wasn’t a tribute, but it was a window into the basketball world that Mamba himself might have shaped.

Since its establishment in 2017, the BIG3 league has transformed into a platform for numerous former NBA stars, where age no longer serves as a barrier. The half-court battles offer a glimpse of the legends that still know how to ball and bring a solid game of thrill and entertainment. But what lingers the most is what it might be like if legends like Bryant still had a stage. Even though he never suited up for the league, his absence has always been felt because ‘Mamba Mentality’ in a BIG3 locker room in 2025 would have been the biggest possible thing that never happened.

That speculation flared again recently, when three-time NBA All-Star Antoine Walker was asked how a 45-year-old Kobe would perform if he were alive and playing in the BIG3. His response was immediate: “30 out of 50. At least. Easy.” He doubled down: “30 out of 50. 30 out of 50.” Walker added, “I was in the same class, so I got a lot of respect for him. We were the class of 1996, so I loved it.” The numbers were not a metaphor. Walker meant it when he said that Kobe would have been a great scorer in the league today. This wasn’t just locker-room praise. It echoed something Ice Cube said nearly a year earlier.

While speaking on The OGs Show, the BIG3 founder revealed Bryant’s final NBA performance with a 60-point game in 2016, which helped inspire the league itself. “If [Kobe] can score 60 points in his last game, he has so much game left but nowhere to play,” Cube said. Despite persistent efforts to bring Kobe Bryant, before his passing in 2020, into the BIG3, Bryant reportedly declined as he wanted to focus on fatherhood.

Was Kobe Bryant ever ready to participate in the BIG3?

Ice Cube’s frustration wasn’t with Kobe Bryant’s decision, but with the growing system that at that point had nowhere to accommodate legends like him. Bryant had reportedly turned down BIG3 invitations multiple times before 2020, but the league’s creation was, in part, a response to his brilliance in his final game. Which was a proof point that greatness didn’t vanish at retirement, and he had a lot more to hoop and display his ‘Mamba Mentality’.

By 2018, rumors of Kobe’s involvement had intensified. BIG3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz told reporters that he had heard from a “credible source” that Bryant might suit up. The rumor was short-lived; Molly Carter, the chief marketing officer of Kobe Inc., swiftly closed it down. “Kobe isn’t playing next season,” she said. Still, the idea remains a powerful hypothetical.

Antoine Walker’s recent take wasn’t about any fantasy. It was a reminder to the basketball world, one rooted in respect, that Kobe Bryant’s dominance had outlasted his career. The BIG3 might’ve been built for many former legends, but in spirit, it was to let legs like Kobe rule the court forever. And now his absence might hint at one of the biggest ‘what-ifs’ of all time.