When Steph Curry was a rookie for the Golden State Warriors, few knew he’d turn into an NBA superstar. That likely included Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, who at the time was the face of the NBA.
That’s probably why an in-prime Kobe Bryant decided to mean mug Stephen Curry when he attempted to talk trash to the LA Lakers star during a game.
It all went down during a tilt late in the fourth quarter of Curry’s initial season which resulted in the Black Mamba heading to the free throw line.
Steph Curry recalled his attempt to talk trash to Kobe, but it backfiring immediately as he told GQ:
This being Kobe’s last All-Star game, do you have a favorite Kobe memory?
Our rookie year we were playing at Oracle and they had a 3-point lead down the stretch. He got fouled, going to the free throw line to ice the game with two free throws. As he’s walking from one end of the court to the other, I’m this rookie that’s just kind of living in the moment and I walk up to him as he’s walking to the free throw line: “Hey, man, you nervous about these free throws?” The look he gave me was so just mean and cold. Just like, “What are you talking about? Get out of my face, you dumb rookie.” He obviously made the two free throws and they won. I’ll remember that look he gave me forever.
If there’s any solace for Curry in getting owned by Kobe Bryant, it’s that he pretty much did the same thing to any other NBA player who attempted to get into his head.
