The relationship between Metta World Peace and the late Kobe Bryant was a classic case of once bitter foes turning into close friends. Before he re-branded himself as MWP, the infamous trouble-maker known as Ron Artest had his many run-ins with the NBA All-Time great in the mid-2000s. That rivalry was squashed the moment World Peace teamed up with Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009.
MWP recently sat down with his fellow retired NBA tough guys Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes in Showtime's All The Smoke Podcast. Of course, his appearance on the hit show wouldn't be complete without sharing his favorite Kobe-related story. World Peace recalled the time he went up against Bryant and learned what a straight-up killer he was on the hardwood.
The one-time NBA champion shared the time he tried to intimidate the Black Mamba, which obviously didn't go MWP's way.
“I go to ref and said, ‘Did you just not see him [Kobe] do that?’ and he said, ‘No, I didn’t see him’.
“So I go to Kobe and I am like ‘My brother, don’t you ever do that again my guy’… Kobe don’t care, Kobe was focused on the game. Kobe is a killer. He is different and I look up to Kobe.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw4CZ-FEtu0&feature=emb_title
Considering Metta World Peace's menacing reputation in the league, most players would have backed off if he had him in their ear. Kobe Bryant, however, was just a different breed of a competitor who didn't take crap from anybody. World Peace already held Bryant in high regard by the time he left the Houston Rockets in free agency to help the Purple and Gold's bid to repeat as champions in 2009-10.
Some pundits claimed that the Lakers downgraded when they took on the older (not to mention unhinged) World Peace to replace Trevor Ariza. The 6-foot-6 defensive pest, however, proved everyone wrong and played a big part in their Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. His clutch 3-pointer off a Bryant pass pretty much sealed the deal in the deciding game.
Metta also shared how he was in awe of Bryant's legendary work ethic, which rubbed off on him the moment he arrived in Hollywood.
“It was just amazing… Practice was very competitive right away, you know how Kobe is… I miss those moments with Kobe and him just playing really well working hard at 5:30 in the morning.”
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