Kobe Bryant named the hardest players he had to guard during his NBA career.
Kobe Bryant will always be remembered as one of the most skilled scorers in the NBA. People can say he stole his moves from Michael Jordan, but Kobe did it in a great way and always showed his quality on the court. The Black Mamba was really incredible to watch, both on offense and defense.
Just like he drove rivals crazy, Kobe also suffered against some rivals who took things personally against him and made sure to demolish the Black Mamba. During his career, he went against so many incredible players that made an impact on him and Kobe could never forget that.
While Bryant was the toughest player to guard for many players, others had that same impact on Kobe. Competitive as he was, Kobe never hesitated to give his flowers to those who really deserved them.
Kobe Bryant Faced Off Against Incredible Rivals
During an interview, KB24 would talk about the toughest guys he faced in the NBA, naming a host of players that are really a total nightmare for defenders. First, he mentioned some players that had big games against.
"I can go by eras, actually. So Allen Iverson was just really--I mean, he was... He was a lot to deal with. There was a game where he dropped 44 on me in Philadelphia. There was a game in New Jersey where [Stephon] Marbury dropped 50 on me. There was a game [Gilbert] Arenas had 60. Carmelo Anthony is always tough for me to deal with. You know, [Kevin] Durant's always tough to deal with."
After all, Bryant named the one that caused more trouble for him, picking one of his best friends in the world.
"There's a lot of guys but the guy that always gave me the most problems, actually was Tracy McGrady. He had all the skills and all the athleticism, but he was 6'9" and he was really tough to figure out."
Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady had a close relationship off the court, with Kobe even taking T-Mac on a roller coaster in Disneyland. Over the years, he mentioned other players as the toughest to guard like Kevin Durant and Brandon Roy, but there's no doubt that he had the ultimate respect for Tracy McGrady's game.
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