“Chef Started Doing His Shimmy on Kobe”: Stephen Curry Wasn’t Too Fazed by Bryant’s Defense, Says Nick Young

They say great offense always beats great defense in the NBA. The late, great Kobe Bryant proved that for the entirety of his career, taking all-time great defenders to the task on his night. But he got the taste of his own medicine while guarding one of the best ball-handlers in modern basketball history, Stephen Curry.

On Gil’s Arena, former Laker Nick Young recalled the time when the Mamba thought he had finally figured out how to stop Curry. Young said that Steph was on a roll during a game against the Lakers. However, Kobe seemed very excited in the locker room at halftime.

Young revealed, “Kobe was like, ‘I figured him out, I finally figured him out…I got it. I’m guarding him.’”

Prior to that, Jeremy Lin was the one guarding Steph. After such a declaration from the team’s leader, players shuffled their positions and got back onto the court, only to find out that Steph was unfazed by Kobe guarding him.

Young added, “Chef started doing shimmy on Kobe. Sh*t. It’s hard to figure somebody like that out.”

“Kobe said ‘I finally figured [Steph] out. I got him I am guarding him.’”

Nick Young recounts the time Kobe tried to lock up Steph Curry 🤣 pic.twitter.com/eCT3VwAVrv

— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) November 14, 2024

Young did acknowledge that Kobe did a better job defending Steph compared to Lin, but it wasn’t enough to contain the two-time MVP. The 39-year-old added that the Warriors superstar ended up with 30 points. Young hinted that Kobe’s age could also be a factor in his failure to contain Steph.

The Dubs guard has had two thirty-point games against Kobe when the latter was teammates with Young.

One was on November 1, 2014, where he scored 31 points. And the other was on November 16, where he had 30. The Warriors won both games.

As much as he hated losing, Kobe loved a good battle.

Kobe Bryant once explained why Stephen Curry is a dangerous player

Steph has been given names like the Baby-Faced Assassin from the beginning of his career. While most people equate it to his ability to score, Kobe saw something else, something far more special in him. The late legend believed that the calmness that Steph possesses is his biggest asset.

He once said that not being overpowered by emotions over success or failure makes him a dangerous player.

“I see a calmness about him. I think it’s something that a lot of players don’t understand…but there’s a serious calmness about him which is extremely deadly. Because he’s not up, he’s not down. He’s not contemplating what has happened before or worrying about what’s to come next, he’s just there,” Kobe explained.

Nobody was ever able to express how Stephen Curry’s demeanor makes him so deadly quite like Kobe Bryant did here 🙏 pic.twitter.com/qh91PCK5su

— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) August 15, 2023

This quality coupled with his basketball skills made Curry one of the best players in Kobe’s eyes. Kobe was not one to praise anyone just for the sake of it. As someone who looked up to him as one of his idols, it must’ve meant a lot to Steph.