“I Was a Sh*t of a Friend”: Days After Turning 51, Dwayne Johnson Reveals How Kobe Bryant Helped His Relationship With Kevin Hart

Published 05/10/2023, 12:00 PM EDT

Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart met at an award show for the first time. A few years later, the pint-sized comedian and the burly Hollywood star were cast in a movie together. In 2016, the world first witnessed the duo in Central Intelligence and the rest, as they say, is history. Seven years later, Johnson and Hart’s friendship has grown stronger. The WWE legend, who admittedly has few friends, counts the 43-year-old as one of his closest mates.

However, that friendship might never have begun in the first place, if not for basketball legend Kobe Bryant.

What role did deceased NBA legend Kobe Bryant play in the Dwayne Johnson-Kevin Hart bond?

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Kobe Bryant is perhaps one of the greatest athletes to have laced up a pair of boots. History has recorded the deceased legend’s anecdotes and stories about discipline and practice sessions. The Black Mamba had famously said that he didn’t have friends while growing up, as he was busy practicing hard to perfect his basketball skills. Johnson, admittedly, followed the same path, though not as rigid as the Lakers legend.

Making an appearance on The Pivot podcast, Johnson said he had few friends while growing up. “I was a s*it of a friend and I didn’t have a lot of friends,” he told the hosts of the podcast. The Brahma Bull said he respected Bryant for his discipline and took note of Kobe’s ever-learning attitude. He said he did the same in his 20s, keeping a myopic focus on his growth.

However, with age, Johnson, who recently turned 51, understood the importance of having friends. It is often said that the fruit of patience is always sweet. This might be the case with Johnson, who, after years of following a Kobe Bryant-like routine, is now more appreciative of his friends.

“As we’re younger in our 20s, you’re rolling hard. You think you got all the answers, and everything is like this (gestures a punch). And then you start to realize, well, life is an endurance race, it’s an endurance test and maybe we don’t know everything we think we know and maybe you could be a little bit more open to the s*it you don’t know,” he said.

Speaking about Kevin Hart, Johnson said he gravitated toward him as he understood what it was like to fail and succeed. “…You also start to realize that having friends is so vitally important as you just get a little older, because you lean on each other, you can open up, it’s like ‘man you gotta, if you’re having a wobbly day, call me, I’m there’ like that kind of stuff,” the 51-year-old said.

Meanwhile, Dwayne Johnson seems to have found a new best friend earlier this year.

Dwayne Johnson announced his new best friend at the Grammys

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Dwayne Johnson was one of the presenters at this year’s Grammy Awards. At the event, he met British singer Adele, fulfilling one of the British singer’s longstanding wishes of meeting the Hollywood star. Later that night, Johnson presented an award to the Skyfall singer. While reading the winner’s name, he said, “Get up here, best friend, Adele”. The singer won the Best Pop Solo Performance for ‘Easy on Me’.

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While Hart was also present at the event, it was Johnson’s camaraderie with Adele that grabbed the limelight. If you are thinking that Hart has been replaced, be assured that isn’t the case, as his recent take on the $450 million Hollywood actor showed the depth of their friendship.

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Meanwhile, what do you think about Dwayne Johnson’s take on friendship? Let us know in the comments.

Watch This Story: The Evolution of Dwayne Johnson

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Written by:

Sudipto is a WWE writer at Essentially Sports. He holds a PG degree in Mass Communication. Being an experienced journalist, Sudipto has interviewed WWE Superstars Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus and hopes to add some more names to that list.

Edited by:

Amal Joyce

“I Was a Sh*t of a Friend”: Days After Turning 51, Dwayne Johnson Reveals How Kobe Bryant Helped His Relationship With Kevin Hart

What role did deceased NBA legend Kobe Bryant play in the Dwayne Johnson-Kevin Hart bond?

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Dwayne Johnson announced his new best friend at the Grammys