Kobe Bryant’s jersey retirement ceremony earlier this week has taken the NBA and basketball community by storm. Fans began recalling their fondest memories of the Los Angeles Lakers great and even former and current players he went up against.

However, since last year, Kyle Korver, John Wall, and Klay Thompson already shared their most unforgettable moments while competing against Bryant. Korver cited the off-the-backboard alley oop The Black Mamba threw to himself, while Wall talked about hearing from him directly that a blocked shot is not a big deal and that the play goes on. Thompson then recalled the time he was defending him, but still shot a game-winner on him with ease.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LROPYP1CwZM&feature=youtu.be

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The stories all three of them narrated only goes to show that Bryant is undoubtedly one of the best players to ever play the game. It also proves that he was playing at a very high level throughout his career as their memories happened in different seasons with Korver’s dating back to his days with the Utah Jazz and Wall and Thompson’s during their earlier seasons in the NBA.

With all of them witnessing first hand some of Bryant’s best plays, it gave them an opportunity to appreciate him more and learned from him as well. Now that his jersey is already retired, they will also be able to proudly say that they competed with an all-time great, who is now forever immortalized by one of most storied franchises of the league.