Kyrie Irving’s streams do not disappoint. Irving recently revealed his NBA GOAT pick on a stream, and has discussed his opinions on various topics. However, the Nets’ point guard told a heartwarming story about Kobe Bryant in a recent stream as well.

Irving began by asking his viewers if they wanted to hear a story about Kobe from 2012 or 2016 during Kyrie's time with the Cavaliers. The viewers replied with 2016 and Irving began his tale. 

“Alright, so the year before, I got hurt in the Finals, Golden State ended up winning the championship. I was really going through it that whole summer. I had a cast on my leg, so I ended up calling Kobe. I was telling him, ‘man my left leg it’s no good, it’s not good.'” 

Kobe apparently asked him what else he can do and Kobe then told him to focus on what he can control. 

Kyrie later asked Kobe how to approach the 2016 season during the summer. 

“'You can’t give a f*ck about what people say,'” Kobe told Irving. “'And if you are paying attention to what people say, stop! Stop paying attention to all that bulls**t people are going to talk anyway. Just be you. Don’t take a backseat to anybody, just be you.'”

Kyrie continued his story and revealed what Kobe said to him when the two hung out together in LA.

“He gave me some extra motivation in the most Kobe way, he was like, ‘man, I think Golden State is definitely going to win the championship this year,'” Irving recalled before pausing to laugh. “Bro, could you imagine Kobe saying this? Bro, this is like my hero.”

“So he says that to me. I looked at him, straight in his eye, and I said ‘no there not. What are you talking about?' He said ‘nah man they got a really good team this year.' I said, ‘there not f*cking winning this year, we are going to win this sh*t. “

Irving then discussed how Kobe had 60 points in his last career game that year. The respect he had for Kobe rose after Kobe Bryant's 60-point outburst, but his comments about Golden State fueled Kyrie Irving.

The Cavaliers made it through the playoffs and ultimately ended up facing Golden State in the Finals.

“We get down 3-1 and I just remember there was a calm that we had about us. We just knew that we were going to do something special. I just remember calling Kobe,” Irving explained. “He just said, ‘I think you know what I'm going to say.' And the rest is history. One my first ‘chip. I saw my Dad and my sister afterwards, but the first people I called was Kobe and Gigi. Those were the first people I called after I won the ‘chip ‘cuz it happened. Everything he said I needed to do I did. I followed the blueprint. And uh, we won.”

The legacy of Kobe Bryant lives on through many NBA players. It is clear that he played a massive role in Kyrie Irving's development as a player and a person. Irving even stated that it was not all about the championship. Rather, it was about a “connection to great people.”

Irving ended the story with some final thoughts on Kobe's impact on him.

“It shaped my journey afterwards. He was a really, really, really good friend, really good mentor. He really kept me going.”