“Kobe Bryant had 40, I had 50, but he hit the Game-Winner”: When Nets’ superstar James Harden described his Drew League match-up against the Lakers’ legend

Nets’ superstar James Harden recalls the time he played Kobe Bryant in the Drew League and dropped 50 and lost, because of a Kobe game-winner

The Drew League is a pro-am basketball league that takes place in Los Angeles every summer. There have been a lot of notable NBA celebrities that have participated in this prestigious league. 10 years ago, two of these celebrities went head to head in such a Drew League game.

Back in 2011, Kobe Bryant and James Harden went head to head in a Drew League game. James Harden erupted for some 47 points, but Kobe Bryant being himself, had to win the game. Kobe scored some 40 points. Due to Kobe’s presence, the gym, which had a capacity of a few hundred people, was getting swarmed by people. The police came and requested Kobe to leave the game, which he declined, and sealed the game with the game-winning shot before leaving the gym.

Kobe pulled up to the Drew League 10 years ago and put on a show…

With his squad down late in the 4th qtr, cops tried to get him to leave early. Kobe said, “I gotta finish the game,” then led a legendary comeback including a game winner at the buzzer!pic.twitter.com/NuYxPhficr

— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) August 16, 2021

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James Harden talks about facing Kobe Bryant on Jimmy Kimmel

James Harden was on Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show back in 2017. There, Kimmel talked about how Kobe Bryant mentioned that he would have loved to have Harden on the Lakers. Harden, who was obviously flattered by the compliment, was out of words.

Kimmel then brought up the Drew League game where the two faced off. Harden describes and says, “I had 50”, to which Kimmel asks how many did Kobe have. James says, “He had some 40, but he hit the game-winner.”

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Anecdotes like these about the great Kobe Bryant remind us of how great he was and make us feel like he is still among us.