Los Angeles Clippers guard Terance Mann said he was a huge fan of the late Kobe Bryant and used to “get so mad and argue” when people said LeBron James was a better basketball player than him. Via “Sessions” on Tidal League:

“He was just one of my favorite players to watch,” Mann said. “I liked the (Los Angeles) Lakers growing up, so it was pretty cool for me.

Mann said he tried to meet Bryant a few months before he died in Jan. 2020 at a movie premiere. He said something happened where he could not get to Bryant.

“I was stressed about that, like ‘Damn, I never really got (to),'” Mann said. “But I saw him, but I never really like got to go up to him and tell him.”

Bryant, who would have been 45 years old Wednesday, is one of the greatest players in NBA history. Many of the players in the league today looked up to him as a motivational figure.

Bryant, who won five NBA championships with the Lakers, notably coined the “Mamba Mentality” after his nickname, “The Black Mamba.” His relentless work ethic and pursuit of success is why he is one of the most-respected athletes of all time.

Mann is 26 years old and plays for the Lakers' crosstown rivals, the Clippers, for the last four seasons. Mann was a rookie during the 2019-20 season when Bryant died in a helicopter crash.

Mann is an important player for the Clippers, who have been championship contenders in the Western Conference for the last four years. Los Angeles lost in the first round of the 2022-23 playoffs to the Phoenix Suns, but they were without forwards Paul George and Kawhi Leonard (played in Games 1 and 2) due to knee injuries.