 Here's the time Alan Iverson taught Kobe Bryant, but then Kobe Bryant retaliated in the most ridiculous way possible This story is just crazy As we know Alan Iverson and Kobe Bryant are two of the greatest shooting guys to have ever stepped on the hardwood Kobe is a five-time NBA champion whilst Alan Iverson never won an NBA championship Kobe has something that I don't have and Kobe has two championships and That's what I want. I play with a certain attitude a certain aggression the competitive spirit and the tenacity that we both share and I Think that's even more intriguing than than our differences So right now you can't even talk about me in the same sentence with Kobe Because of just that there's been many debates about if Alan Iverson was paired up with a player like Shaquille O'Neal How many he would have won and maybe if he had a sidekick that he'd be ranked up higher on some people's All-time list, but you can't go back and change the past what we can do is relive the past and Kobe Bryant once relayed a story about the time Alan Iverson torched him in 1999 Kobe Bryant got his revenge just one year later and the rest is history He's the entire story. I combined interviews together with videos highlights and clips to conduct a story that all flows together For you to enjoy you guys seem to love these videos Appreciate if you guys could leave a like on this video to show your support It literally takes two seconds of your time and it would really help my channel out if you're new around here And you enjoy these subs videos feel free to subscribe and lastly a channel dedicated to Kobe Bryant is a channel called Rahul presents Kobe He made a similar video which I included clips from his video where he read out passages from a Kobe Bryant article called obsession is natural I'm going to use his voice as the commentary for Kobe Bryant's article because I saw how dedicated of a fan He truly was to the black mamba, but full credit goes to him and be sure to check out his channel with that said I hope you're all feeling safe and let's get started The story begins during the 1996 1997 NBA season Kobe Bryant and Alan Iverson's rookie year Obviously Kobe Bryant was entering the Los Angeles Lakers team with Shaquille O'Neal and an already made team Alan Iverson was heading to the 76ers a team that basically was built around no one except him the answer It was basically a team to just build around Alan Iverson and let him do whatever he wanted to do on the court And he took full advantage of it Kobe Bryant started off his piece obsession is natural by saying in a game on November 12 1996 Kobe Bryant's rookie year He saw Alan Iverson drop 35 points on the New York Knicks in a win at the Garden Kobe on the other hand was sitting on the bench that very same night watching his team face the Houston Rockets Kobe had played a total of five minutes and scored just two points And whilst he played behind veteran guards like Byron Scott, Eddie Jones, Robert Aurey and Cedric Sabalos This ate at Kobe the fact that he was watching other rookies go out there and showcase their talents Whilst he was sitting on the bench. He said When I checked into my hotel room later that night and saw the 35 on Sports Center, I lost it I flipped the table through the chairs broke the TV. I thought I had been working hard five minutes two points I needed to work harder. I did fast forward three years later. Kobe Bryant was starting to emerge He wasn't that rookie with potential coming off the bench anymore He was starting to find his role in the Lakers offense He wasn't lying when he said he had to improve and his quote was I did and he sure did that He was averaging 20 points on the year a five point increase from the previous season as the new Los Angeles Lakers starting shooting guard He was finally getting the minutes that he deserved after putting in the hard work The Lakers and 76ers only played once that season But Kobe was eager to show his nemesis what he could do on the court now that the Lakers were giving him more minutes And he was the starting shooting guard for the most storied franchise the league had ever seen He was also playing alongside Shaquille O'Neal the most dominant center in the NBA But in that game it was all about the answer who not only taught Kobe Bryant But the entire Los Angeles Lakers roster which included the most dominant center in the NBA in Shaquille O'Neal Glenn Rice who was one of the most prolific three-point shooters in the league and of course Kobe Bryant who couldn't handle the answer on this night The Philadelphia 76ers won that game 105 to 90 and with Kobe Bryant playing 40 minutes that game He wanted to show the answer what he was about instead Alan Iverson dominated him Kobe went on to say Philly put up 105 points to win by 15 behind Alan Iverson who dropped 41 5 and 10 with two steals Almost matching Kobe and Shaq's combined total of 46 Kobe had better than his season average with 23 points on 9 out of 16 and Shaq put up 23 of his own But Kobe and Shaq had five turnovers apiece This fueled Kobe once again Not only was the answer coming into the league and dominating the league straight away getting more minutes than Kobe Killing teams unlike Kobe. He was winning accolades scoring titles and leading his team Kobe Bryant on the other hand was playing as the second option But unlike Alan Iverson and Kobe Bryant in their rookie years Kobe Bryant had the opportunity in this game He played 40 minutes and he still couldn't control the answer on this night and This fueled Kobe to become one of the greatest shooting guards of all time with Alan Iverson dropping 41 points on his head Getting the win by 15 and our playing Kobe Bryant on this night this particular night on March 19th 1999 Alan Iverson changed Kobe Bryant And turned him into the black mamba Kobe Bryant was already obsessed about the game of basketball But this particular night made him obsessive about Alan Iverson and that's what the article is about Working harder wasn't enough. I had to study this guy maniacally. I obsessively read every article and book I could find about AI. I obsessively watched every game He had played going back to the IUPU all-american game I obsessively studied his every success and his every struggle. I obsessively searched for any weakness I could find not only did Kobe study game film of Iverson and look for his tendencies and flaws But he found himself watching great white sharks hunting seals off the coast of South Africa Kobe recognized that there was something to learn from the way the sharks would use patience Timing and angles to continuously catch their prey by surprise But Kobe explained how he studied great white sharks to figure out how to stop Alan Iverson. I'm serious. You should read it. So as you can imagine the next game It was on Alan Iverson vs. Kobe Bryant There was no way that Kobe was going to allow Alan Iverson to have the same performance of last game He had studied Alan Iverson. He read every book Everything he could find about Alan Iverson to stop him He even watched great white sharks hunting seals off the coast of South Africa And now he was able to face the man that had killed him just a season earlier But at this stage Alan Iverson had 16 points heading into the second half He was on his way to 32 points and the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers were tied 38 at the half On February 20th 2000 Phil Jackson put Kobe Bryant on Alan Iverson after Iverson dropped 16 in the first half This is what happened now. The Los Angeles Lakers this season had a new head coach Phil Jackson Who was the mastermind? He had coached the greatest shooting guy in NBA history He knew what it took and he knew that putting Kobe Bryant on Alan Iverson would fuel him and with Alan Iverson Dominating Kobe in the first matchup. This was a payback time After Kobe switched on to Iverson. He never scored again AI went all for 10 in the second half finishing the game 7 for 25 for 16 points 8 assists and 5 turnovers. Kobe Bryant finished the game with 18 points 7 assists and 5 blocks With the Los Angeles Lakers getting the win by three points and Alan Iverson being shut out the game in the second half Kobe was happy about this game and the win, but he was still mad about Alan Iverson dominating him in the first matchup Iverson had 16 points in the half and then Kobe guarded in the second half and Iverson finished with 16 He said I swore from that point on to approach every matchup as a matter of life and death No one was going to have that kind of control over my focus ever again And no one ever did. Kobe Bryant became one of the most elite defenders in the NBA Which still sometimes goes unrecognized and it was very rare that a player got the best of Kobe Bryant Throughout the next few seasons Kobe Bryant and Alan Iverson had some heated battles They met up in the NBA finals in 2001 with the Los Angeles Lakers winning it all Many years later once Iverson was retired He said he considered Kobe to be in his Mount Rushmore and during his Hall of Fame speech He thanked Kobe for always bringing the greatest out of him when they matched up head-to-head Kobe True competitor who's on your shortlist the best competitor to shoe face Michael Jordan Alan Iverson are the two that come to mind immediately And AI was much the same. I mean from opening tip to the end I mean this guy was just going going going He'd always put you in jeopardy. So those two guys are the most competitive I face But he bought everything out of me on the basketball court and I appreciate him for that. Yeah, it got to a point where we were We basically were at the top of our game, you know an AI as a competitor drove me to Be as obsessive more obsessive about the game because I had to figure out how to solve that problem people nowadays realize how great you were as a player and How big of a problem you work for for defenses at one point and It was always a war, you know, obviously He was too big for me. You know me, so I couldn't guard him, but he would guard me You knew you had to come with you your best Well, no half-stepping he coming to compete coming to fight at the biggest heart in the world ultimate competitive and I said a couple days ago, he bought everything Both players have the ultimate respect for one another the ultimate competitive nature between the two Forced them to have these heated battles the one time Alan Iverson got the better of Kobe Kobe Bryant wanted revenge Alan Iverson was the reason that Kobe Bryant ended up being the black member the game in 1999 changed Kobe Bryant's career for the better and Kobe Bryant respected how great of a player Alan Iverson truly was only the greats recognized the greats Today Alan Iverson sometimes goes a little bit unappreciated But Kobe Bryant always stood out for Alan Iverson calling him the ultimate competitor It's sad that we will never see Kobe Bryant back up Alan Iverson just one more time It's sad that we'll never see Kobe Bryant share this story with the words from his mouth But I'm glad that he wrote this article in 2017 to give praise to Alan Iverson and to show the black member mentality Let me know what you think about this story down below in the comments section If you enjoyed the video, I'd greatly appreciate if you guys could drop a like to show your support Let's aim for a thousand likes if you're new around here and you enjoy NBA content Be sure to hit that subscribe button for weekly NBA content And be sure to check out the Rahul presents Kobe channel the link is in the description. It's been your body Smith. I am out