Unlike Houston Rapper, Iman Shumpert Suffered Different Disrespect From Kobe Bryant

When Iman Shumpert got drafted 17th overall by the Knicks in 2011, he came in swinging—fearless defense, wild athleticism, and no backdown in his game. He averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists that rookie year, guarding some of the league’s top dogs. But one matchup with Kobe Bryant? That shook him. That moment left him second-guessing himself. Now, looking back, Shump sees it for what it was—a rare lesson from one of the greatest ever.

Over 20 seasons, Kobe Bryant stacked up five championships, 18 All-Star selections, and 33,643 points—still fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. With career averages of 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists, Kobe’s greatness wasn’t just in his stats—it was in how he predicted and delivered. And Iman Shumpert saw that up close. He said, “Kobe said what he needed to say… I never had a playoff war with him. I’ve never gone back and forth with Kobe for a long time. We had our very small tit-for-tat back and forths, and then he would sort of make his statement, and the game would kind of go how he said it would go.” And that’s the thing—“It usually goes how Kobe says.” That’s not just confidence. That’s Kobe.

When Iman Shumpert sat down on The Dan Patrick Show, he brought back one of those stories that instantly tells you what it was like to face Kobe Bryant. “We are headed into the fourth quarter, and we are playing really well,” Shumpert said. “I got steals, you know, I’m doing really well against him from my standpoint as a rookie player coming into this league. I’m thinking of all these positive things that I’ve done to play against this legendary Laker.” And then, boom—Kobe hits him with a mental dagger. “At the end of the third quarter, [Kobe] tapped me on the leg and said, ‘You had a great game, young fella,’ and my first reaction was, ‘There’s 12 minutes left.’ It’s the most disrespectful thing anybody’s ever said to me.”

Looking back, Iman Shumpert couldn’t help but admire the method behind Kobe’s madness. He said, “After that, Kobe he brought out the whole package. It was almost uh as if to say, you know, he wasn’t going 100%, but I know that now, being older—he was just letting me know, um, you know, this is the last game on this West Coast swing for us—well it was either their last game or one of the last games—but they on their East Coast swing for us and Kobe wasn’t going to, you know, go all out the whole game. He was saving it for the last 12 minutes to see if he could, you know, get another win before they pack it up and go back to LA and um, you know, understanding his professionalism in that moment—I didn’t.” That moment stuck with him, not as disrespect, but as a masterclass in pacing, control, and pure Kobe-level focus.

Carmelo Anthony knew exactly what was coming the moment Kobe tapped Shump on the leg. “When [Kobe Bryant] goes to [Iman Shumpert] and say, ‘Good job, good game, great game, youngin’. That means it’s over. He done figured Shump out,” Melo said. Watching it unfold, he couldn’t help but laugh at his rookie teammate’s energy. “[Shump] is so hyped he’s jumping at every shot fake. I’m like, man, come on, you’re a bunny rabbit.” But Kobe’s trash-talking was not the same, and this subtle all the time!

Trash talk gone wrong: How Bun B fueled the Kobe Bryant

Houston rap legend Bun B recently took fans courtside to a wild playoff memory—one that involved him trash-talking the Kobe Bryant… and instantly regretting it. On The Young Man and the Three podcast with Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady, Bun B shared how he went full Spike Lee during a Rockets-Lakers playoff game—trying to throw Kobe off his rhythm while sitting front row. “Kobe took a lot of delight in coming to the city and doing what Kobe does,” Bun said, setting the scene of the Lakers star visiting Houston. At the time, the Rockets had managed to hold Kobe to “maybe 10 points or 12 points,” and Bun figured it was his time to chirp. “I was a recipient of the shrug before,” he said. “It was a playoff game… and I’m like, ‘This my Spike Lee moment,’ right?”

Now, if you know your NBA history, you know exactly what kind of energy Bun was channeling—Spike Lee jawing with Reggie Miller in ’94, Knicks-Pacers, iconic choke sign and all. Only this time, it wasn’t Miller lighting someone up—it was the Black Mamba. “So I’m talking s—, right? I’m talking s—,” Bun recalled. “And then, at one point, I say something, and he looks at me—he looks right at me. That man hit three 3-pointers right in front of me, like purposely coming to the spot in front of me and hitting it.”

The moment wasn’t just humbling—it was game-shifting. Kobe didn’t just respond; he locked in. “I put the battery in that man’s back. Like, if I’d have been quiet, we might have had that s—,” Bun B said. “The series was over from that point on. It was like, ‘Okay, now not only am I here for y’all. I’m here for you, too.” While it’s not clear exactly which game he was talking about, it most likely took place during the heated 2009 Western Conference Semifinals—a brutal seven-game war that the Lakers eventually won. And even if the box score doesn’t show Kobe raining three straight treys in that exact sequence, anyone who watched the Mamba in playoff mode knows—he lived for moments like this.