Kobe Bryant is famously competitive, to the point where “Mamba Mentality” is now a meme-worthy phrase in basketball culture. On Monday, that legendary competitive streak reared its head once again, as ESPN’s Rachel Nichols sat down with both Bryant and Tracy McGrady.
In an amusing back-and-forth, Bryant asserted that he beat McGrady in a 1-on-1 game and the fireworks emanated from there.
Kobe believes he won in a one-on-one matchup against T-Mac in Germany.
T-Mac remembers it differently 😂 (via @Rachel__Nichols) pic.twitter.com/l0B2pXP7Qw
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 4, 2019
As you can see, Bryant and McGrady disagreed from the beginning on whether the workout involved actually constituted a 1-on-1 battle at all. From there, the logistics were parsed, including where the “game” actually took place and what the understanding was between the two during the action.
Finally, Bryant (somehow) recalled the exact score from the match-up and shared that midway through the proceedings. By the end, McGrady was doubling down and saying there was essentially no way the “11-3” score was actually correct and it is pretty easy to see the competitive juices from another player with a Hall of Fame pedigree.
In the end, there is nothing that is actually important here but it is fun to see two legendary wing players dueling during a post-career interview. Still, it is also another view into the psyche of Bryant, specifically, and his fans will love it while his detractors will poke fun.
