Music mogul, Steve Stoute has seen a side of Kobe Bryant not many have. Besides being a part of Bryant’s short lived rap career, he’s seen his discipline to win and a tough mentality even in the face of danger. While on Club Shay Shay, Stoute recalled one incident that had him fearing for both of their safety. A sentiment Bryant didn’t seem to share with him at the time.

“We got out one night to this bar and back then street guys would buy all of the Cristal,” Stoute recalled to Shannon Sharpe. He added that anyone else would have to ‘check in’ with the people who bought all the expensive liquor. Bryant didn’t drink back then but Stoute ordered Cristal for himself. But realizing someone had bought all of it, Stoute was reluctant to create a scene. Instead, they went to a diner at around two or three in the morning. However, the same “street guy” was at the diner too.

“And Kobe is making jokes about his outfit,” Stoute recalled. To his dread, that person overheard Bryant’s taunts and he called Stoute outside. It couldn’t have been a trivial moment for the future entrepreneur when he saw a gun with the street guy. He tried to diffuse the situation while this gangster apparently didn’t know who the NBA star the Lakers recruited straight out of high school was. Compounding his situation, Bryant intervened.

“Kobe comes outside, sees the gun.” Though Stoute wanted him to go back in, 18-year-old Bryant was not going to leave his friend alone in possible danger. “He goes, ‘I’m not going nowhere.'”  Stoute was stunned by Bryant’s fearlessness. “When he said, ‘I ain’t going nowhere,’ I’m like, who, what kind of person is this? I’m giving you the out, this is not your problem, I’ll deal with this problem. He don’t want that. This is ‘our’ problem.” 

Stoute didn’t exactly say how that incident concluded but obviously, he and teenaged Bryant made it out of that situation. This is the first time he revealed the incident. He had many more stories to demonstrate more of that famous Mamba Mentality.

Kobe Bryant’s tough tactics on and off the court

Another time Stoute was left awed by the Black Mamba was after he entered the NBA. The 1996 draft class had more than a few stellar MVPs including Bryant and Allen Iverson. Rookie Iverson notably made ways embarrassing veterans like Michael Jordan with his signature ankle breakers.

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Stoute said that Bryant’s respect for AI was boundless and it fueled his competitive drive. He was so determined to tackle the famous crossover move, he recruited 10 athletes from New York who could replicate AI’s speed and moves. He practiced against them in an “assembly line.”

For Steve Stoute, it was another incident of seeing Bryant’s tough mental fortitude in person. This illustrates Kobe Bryant’s famous formidability. It seemed to have even protected his friend.

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