This Is What Happened When Players TRASH TALKED Kobe Bryant

If there was ever a person that you just don't talk smack to, it was Kobe being Bryant. Some dudes out there, however, didn't get the memo and still decided to poke the black mamba. Well guys, here's what happens when NBA players tried to trash talk the legendary Kobe Bryant. During the Team USA camp back in 2012, the then-sophomore Kyrie Irving walked up to Kobe and challenged him to one-on-one for 50 grand. Pretty crazy, right? Now, Kobe was 34 around this and in a typical Kobe fashion, he shut down the 20-year-old by saying, to which Kyrie has responded, The video went viral and if you watch the entire clip, you can see that Kyrie actually seemed confident in beating Kobe. But in actuality, here's what ran through the mind of Kyrie when he walked up and confronted the mamba. I walk over there and my heart's pounding, bro. I don't know why. And I'm like, I'm about to go talk with Kobe. I'm like, honestly, I'd beat you one-on-one, bro. And I practiced the line in my head, like, when I get a chance, I could beat you one-on-one. I practiced in the mirror before I got there. And I'm like, Kobe, man, like, I could beat you one-on-one. Honestly, we should get this one-on-one game. Honestly, I think you can't guard me. Team USA went on to win the gold medal in the Olympics, but the one-on-one didn't take place until the Lakers visited the Cavaliers in December of 2012. But before we get to their much-anticipated matchup, let's replay what Kyrie said earlier. And now let's play what happened when they finally had their one-on-one. Man, I've never seen anybody clamp down Uncle Drew like that. And even though the Lakers lost that night, Kyrie learned his lesson, which is, this is the guy that you should never, ever talk trash to. Jay Crowder is a solid 3 and D guy that has hopped around the league for the last few years or so. But in 2012, when he was first drafted, he made a rookie mistake when he decided to mess with the Black Mamba. Without logging in a single minute of court action yet, Kobe dropped by to say hello to Crowder. You ready, young fella? To which Crowder replied, you ready, old head? Kobe took it personally, and when the opening buzzer sounded, the old head just started destroying whoever was in front of him. While Kobe was wreaking havoc left and right, here was Crowder's response. Anyway, according to Crowder's account, he recalled blocking one of Kobe's shots and during the heat of the moment, Crowder said to Kobe, that was the second time Crowder roasted Kobe, but this time around, Kobe responded. You sure you want to do that? Crowder recalls the incident vividly, and he said that Kobe looked over at Vince Carter and was like, you better get the young fella, you better get the young fella. And Vince was like, chill out, chill out, Kobe. The rematch between the Lakers and the Mavs happened a month later, and right before tip-off, Kobe and Crowder had another brief exchange that went something like their previous interaction. You ready, young fella? You ready, old head? Some people just don't learn. Kobe only had 19 points this time, but he didn't need that many points because the Lakers blew out the Mavs badly. Now, Kobe didn't totally forget what Crowder said to him in each of the pre-games, and when the two finally locked horns, the Mamba went out for blood against the reggae-haired rookie. Crowder recalls that layup, and here's what he said when he saw Kobe going full steam on him. He had that look in his eye. He had that Mamba mentality look. It was crazy. I'll never forget that. I'm like, I don't know why I talked crap to him before the game, I should have said nothing, but he definitely showed me, yeah, I'm Kobe. On the night of December 17th, 2006, the guy known as Hibachi cooked up a 60-piece to set the Wizards franchise scoring record at Kobe's expense. During the flight back home, Arenas was feeling good and was in full trash-talk mode. His teammate, meanwhile, Karan Butler, was talking to Kobe on the phone. His other teammate, Brendan Haywood, saw and heard what happened next, and here's the story in detail. Once he scored 60, Gil got a little mouthy. We're on the team plane and Karan Butler is talking to Kobe, and Gil starts talking trash to Kobe. He tells Kobe, if you're the Black Mamba, then my new nickname is the Black Mongoose. Kobe said, keep that same energy when I come to DC. I thought Kobe forgot. Two months later, I'm not even thinking about it. I put my hand out, Kobe walked right past me. He did not shake anybody's hand. He walked up to Gil, slapped him on the butt and said, remember you asked for this, and make sure you guard me the way I'm gonna guard you. Arenas tried to talk trash to one of the best who ever did it. Well, fast forward two months later. They were undefeated throughout much of this game in anticipation. The Mamba went down to business and did exactly what he said on the phone by unleashing 39 points on 53% shooting while knocking down two threes and hitting 9 out of 10 from the foul line. The Lakers had their payback by defeating the Wizards 118-102, and right after the game, Haywood shared his experience about the whole Arenas-Kobe thing. So, I've been a part of Gil's 60, and I saw how that 60 translated into what could have been 60 for Kobe Bryant, but he didn't have to play in the fourth quarter. That's how bad that man was that night. Kobe and Allen Iverson were two of the fiercest competitors we've ever seen in the NBA, and both were gifted in the art of trash talk. The two icons also had a long history together, as both were drafted in 1996, and along the way, they shared the basketball courts together in battles. But of all the wars that they had had, the one that stood out the most was during the 2001 NBA Finals. A.I. dropped 48 points in Game 1 to shock the Lakers and the rest of the world, but during that game, things between A.I. and Kobe flared up to a boiling point. Kobe was having none of A.I.'s smack talk, and here's his reaction to that incident. With Allen, he's doing whatever he can to inspire his team and fire them up, but I really don't care. We're here, we're the world champions, and no matter how inspired your team may be, the championship has to come through the city of Los Angeles. Well, it seemed that A.I.'s trash talk backfired on him because, over the next four games, Kobe just exploded and went wild against the 76ers. After only scoring 15 points in Game 1, Kobe went nuts and unleashed the Black Mamba over the next four games to capture his second championship. Iverson talked about his relationship with Kobe last year in an interview, and though he admitted they were not that close, A.I. said that he and Kobe had mad respect for each other, and that's what pushed them to be I didn't have a personal relationship with him, but you know how killers respect killers. That's what it was. He knew who I was, and I knew who he was. He gave me that push, and I gave it to him. I wish I could have had a better relationship with him as far as how great other people said he was, and what type of cool dude he was. I want that energy around me. He was the ultimate. Regardless if you're a legit baller or not, Kobe would not give you a free pass if you decided to poke the Mamba. Just like the other hooligans who have tried and failed, the rapper Bow Wow stepped up to the plate and challenged Kobe to a one-on-one with a thousand bucks on the line. The world know about me playing basketball. He know one shot, I could kill him with one jumper. Well, as soon as he went up against the Mamba, Bow Wow soon realized this wasn't the set of Like Mike, and here's what happened. During the game, Kobe just manhandled Bow Wow like an infant child. I mean, he didn't even let him score once. And if that wasn't enough to humiliate the player wannabe, Kobe did lash out some words of his own to add insult to injury. Iman Shumpert was the 17th overall pick for the Knicks back in 2011. A year later, his top-notch defensive skills were finally put to the test against a prime Kobe Bryant at MSG. I guarded Kobe in the garden. I can't remember how much he had, but I know I had multiple steals against him to wear in the game in my head. All I'm thinking of is when I'm having this conversation with my brother after the game, how I'm going to tell him I stole a ball from Kobe, how I stripped Kobe before he was going to take a shot, and how I drove by Kobe and got a dunk. Shumpert managed to limit Kobe to just 20 points in three quarters as he struggled on the field shooting just 6 for 17. However, Kobe just needed five words to turn things back around. The fourth quarter started and Kobe said, you had a great game. I swear I looked at the clock like, there's 12 minutes left, what are you talking about? What was that? You know what I'm saying? You ain't said nothing the whole game. I've been talking s**t. I stole the ball. I'm hyped as hell. It's Kobe Bryant. He ain't said not one word to me. As the fourth began, Kobe let his game do the talking and answered Shumpert's smack talk by putting up bucket after bucket. The man comes down. He went shot fake, shot fake, threw it off the glass, caught it, threw it to the corner. I'm like, bro, what are you on? Like, bro, you've been regular all game. In the aftermath, Kobe scored 14 points in the fourth and ended up with 34 that night along with 10 rebounds and one assist. Another clear indication that if you triggered the Mamba, well, the Mamba strikes back. Anyway, on a slightly different topic here, have you ever wondered what happens when you trash talk not the Mamba, but the chef? Just like Kobe, Steph Curry is a killer on the court. And if you trash talk him, you better be prepared. Anyway, click the video guys. And like always, I'll see you on the other side. Transcribed by https://otter.ai