The Big Lead

Kobe Bryant was given a reality check by a young Steph Curry

By Aikansh Chaudhary

November 24, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles the basketball against Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Lakers 111-77. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
November 24, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles the basketball against Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Lakers 111-77. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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Kobe Bryant remained one of the best two-way players for the majority of his NBA career. Evidently, the Mamba locked down a plethora of talented players with his vicious defense.

Over the years, Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry has given many great defenders a run for their money. Keeping that in mind, an on-court battle between prime Bryant and Curry would have been amazing.

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The two stars did play against each other 15 times, with Bryant holding a 9-6 record over the 2x NBA MVP. Speaking of their battles, former NBA player Nick Young recently recalled a moment from the 2014-15 NBA season.

"I remember seeing Kobe do like some extra motivation stuff," Young said. "He was playing against the Warriors, and Steph was just killing us. And then we came back in the locker room and Kobe was like, ‘I got him. I figured him out. I finally figured him out.'"

Bryant obviously wanted the 1-on-1 assignment against Curry. But Young reveals that Steph ultimately got the better of the LA Lakers legend.

"Chef started doing shimmy on Kobe. S**t, it’s hard to figure somebody out like that out."

Considering Kobe was already past his prime at that time, Curry getting the better of him wasn't surprising at all. Had the two stars met a couple of years ago, the Mamba would have made it his life mission to figure out the trick behind stopping the Warriors star.

Fast forward to 2024, Curry is still leaving defenders clueless with his offense as the 4x NBA champion continues to impress. He has helped the Warriors reach a 9-2 record early in the season.

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