Cuttino Mobley tells funny Kobe Bryant story which sums up his Mamba Mentality, ‘we couldn’t see’

How Kobe Bryant’s mentality surprised Cuttino Mobley

Mobley grew up in Pennsylvania at the same time as Kobe, and the pair would often work out together as they aspired to make the NBA.

Yet, the former Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers guard shared that Bryant once ditched him to train alone.

“This one time, we were at Saint Joseph’s University because we used to work out in the gym there,” Cuttino said.

“After a while, he would not work out with us. He would go into the other part, where there was a smaller gym.

“There was a little window, and he would tape the window and lock the door, so we couldn’t see what he was doing. By himself.”

Cuttino then explained how Bryant would treat him differently before games against each other once they made it to the NBA.

“Then, when I got to the pros, he would always encourage me,” he added. “‘Kill and be aggressive,’ he always used to tell me.

“And then I started getting better and better, and I would notice when I was about to play him because we would stop talking that week.

“We wouldn’t talk that week, and then after we finished playing, we would go back to talking.”

Those stories sum up Kobe’s mentality to a tee. He did not want to give up an inch to his competitors, even if they were close friends.

Where Shaquille O’Neal ranks Kobe Bryant among the greatest NBA players ever

Kobe’s former teammate, Shaquille O’Neal, recently shared his top 10 greatest players in NBA history. Here is the full list:

1. Michael Jordan
2. Kobe Bryant
3. LeBron James
4. Magic Johnson
5. Bill Russell
6. Wilt Chamberlain
7. Larry Bird
8. Hakeem Olajuwon
9. Tim Duncan
10. Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving

Shaq ranked Jordan in first place, as most people do, and picked Kobe in second ahead of LeBron James.

While James undoubtedly has the better statistical resume, many players lean towards Kobe because of the way he intimidated them as a teammate or opponent.

The most notable exclusions from Shaq’s list were Golden State Warriors legend Stephen Curry and himself. Not many would rank Hakeem Olajuwon above O’Neal.