Jalen Rose has been getting some stick for a while for being at the receiving end of an 81-point masterpiece by Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, but he had no idea its author was the one who once idolized him growing up.

In an interview with VladTV, Rose disclosed the time when the Mamba himself shared this worthwhile nugget.

“I love and respect Kobe Bryant. I actually just got done talking to him on Get Up. That's my guy, now that's my guy — to the point where he actually admitted something that I didn't know. He was like ‘who do you think my favorite player was when I was growing up?' I was like sure. I named like 50 people. Why? Kobe did an interview and said that I was his favorite player growing up. I googled it — it was on USA TODAY. I was like ‘alright.'

“This is why you should never meet your idols. That is why he scored 81 points and I was on the other team.”

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Rose was no slouch himself coming up in the NBA, touted as one of the most able members of the Fab Five along with Chris Webber and Juwan Howard — a Michigan team that revolutionized college basketball and brought a certain swagger to the league.

The Detroit native was a well-rounded scorer that could hit from all three levels, possessing a smooth game with its share of intensity. Nowadays Rose is more remembered for being at the wrong end of a historic scoring barrage during his latter years in the league, though it seems the Lakers icon respects him a lot even to this day to make such a heartfelt admission.