Kevin Garnett's latest tell-all piece with Bleacher Report offers a great in-depth look at his relationship with the late Kobe Bryant. NBA fans likely remember the two iconic players as fierce competitors in the Western Conference early in their careers, which was capped off by two classic Finals series when KG suited up for the Boston Celtics while The Black Mamba was with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Unbeknown to many, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett were incredibly close friends off the floor. Garnett knows first-hand how cerebral of a competitor Bryant truly was as he approached each game without an ounce of fear in his system.

But as Garnett can attest, that wasn't always the case with Kobe Bryant at the beginning of his career. The Big Ticket recalled the first and only time he saw nervousness in Bryant's eyes when made the first of his many NBA All-Star appearances in 1998 at Madison Square Garden.

“First All-Star with Kob and Jordan. The press was playing up how, at 19, Bean (Kobe Bryant) was the youngest All-Star ever. The press was getting to him. Sooner or later, the press gets to all of us. The press was saying that Jordan was already polished to perfection and we'd see just how much polish Kob had going for him,” KG fondly recalled.

The one-time NBA champion detailed how the Larry Bird-mentored East squad was gunning for Kobe Bryant that game and the punishing build-up caused a burden of heavy anxiety on his mind. Being the supportive friend that he is, KG knew exactly what to say to hype his brother up.

“Forget that nervous s–t, Kob. We here now, boy. We here!” I gave him a double-dap on his chest with my fists and screamed right in his face. “We starters! We the future!”

The rest, as we now know it, is history. Kobe Bryant, Garnett, and the Western All-Stars lost the exhibition match, but the brash Laker star led the way for his team with 18 points. Garnett and Bryant even hooked up for one of the best highlights from the game, a terrific alley-oop that is now forever etched in the annals of All-Star history.

 

“He played his heart out, and I never did see him nervous again,” Garnett concluded his Kobe Bryant All-Star story.

Kobe Bryant went on to make 18 All-Star appearances over the course of his legendary career and won All-Star Game MVP four times. The league has even renamed the trophy in Bryant's honor.