J.R Smith’s Favorite Kobe Bryant Moment Is A Rookie Lesson He Learned From The Mamba


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The Los Angeles Lakers are retiring Kobe Bryant’s #8 and #24 jersey’s on Monday, and as a result, all-things Kobe has been dominating the NBA news cycle for the last several days.

Most recently, Nike brought back its iconic NBA puppets ad campaign for the occasion. Nike released three ads that feature Kobe Bryant waxing poetic about himself on a beach somewhere while fellow NBA icon LeBron James tries his best to abandon Kobe so he doesn’t miss his next game in Milwaukee. You can watch the videos here, and they’re all fantastic.

Bryant’s NBA career lasted 20 years, spanning three decades, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a professional basketball player from Kobe’s era that doesn’t have a Black Mamba story. Jerry West told the tale of how he nearly traded up to draft Tracy McGrady, which would have placed Kobe, McGrady, and Shaquille O’Neal on the same squad. Kevin Durant revealed the advice Bryant gave him at dinner in Bryant’s final season. Our favorite story, however, comes courtesy of J.R. Smith, and it captures the essence of Bryant as a basketball player.

During a Q&A on Twitter Monday, a fan asked J.R. Smith what his “favorite Mamba moment” was. Smith responded with a quick story from his rookie year in New Orleans, and it did not disappoint.

If you’ve played hoops on any level, you know what J.R. Smith is going through here. Knowing what you’re opponent is going to do is only half the battle, but executing on that knowledge takes the kind of discipline a 19-year old J.R. Smith just didn’t have. Bryant is one of the best difficult shot makers the NBA has ever seen, and that’s why simply knowing what he’s going to do is never enough.

Bryant spent years posting up hundreds of different basketball players, all of which knew the turnaround post-up fadeaway was coming, so Smith shouldn’t feel too bad about this one, but it’s a fun story and a good reminder of how specific plays can eat at you for years. This likely happened in 2004, and Smith remembers it in painstaking detail.

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