Stephen A Smith is one of the most outspoken broadcasters there is on the air today. This man is as fearless as it gets as he openly speaks his mind without any hesitation whatsoever. As it turns out, however, Stephen A once found his match in Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant.
Smith recently guested on the Howard Stern show and the ESPN anchor confessed that Kobe struck fear into his heart:
“Now he scared me,” Smith said. “Kobe scared the living s**t out of me because here's why: Kobe was a savant. You did not know more basketball than Kobe Bryant.”
Smith shared how Bryant used to call him whenever the fallen Lakers legend didn't like what Stephen A had to say about him on one of his shows. Smith recalls one specific voicemail that has stuck with him through the years:
“You know who this is motherf**ker,” Smith said, quoting Bryant. “Get your a** up, pick up the f**king phone and call me back. That bullsh*t you just said. And don't keep me waiting for so long either.”
According to Smith, Kobe went on a lengthy rant about Stephen A overlooking the other aspects of the game while choosing to focus on Bryant's shortcomings. The Black Mamba clearly did not appreciate the scathing criticism from Smith, who for his part, never backed down and also gave Kobe a piece of his mind. What a conversation that must have been.
At the end of the day, however, their friendship and mutual respect prevailed over any of their disagreements:
“He'll go like this, ‘I have no idea why I love your a**. I really don't. Sometimes I really, really don't. But I love you.' He said, ‘But you go on the air and say that s**t again, I'm calling you to curse your a** out,” Smith recalled.
"You know who this is motherf**ker. Get your ass up, pick up the f**king phone and call me back. That bullsh*t you just said."
Stephen A. Smith on Kobe Bryant calling him after he'd criticize him on TV 😂🐍pic.twitter.com/5GrVto09GJ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 18, 2023
That's classic Kobe Bryant. You can almost imagine the Lakers icon with his face all riled up as he bombarded Stephen A on the phone. We miss you, Bean.