Since the past decade, the Los Angeles-based Drew League has found growing popularity among NBA stars. This pro-am league is known to feature several top players bringing their talents during the NBA off-season hiatus. Similarly, Kobe Bryant and DeMar DeRozan also had their fair share of experiences playing in this pro-am league. During a recent appearance on an episode of the Uninterrupted podcast, with Iman Shumpert, DeRozan narrated one of his favorite Drew League experiences with Kobe Bryant in 2011. This was about the Mamba’s ‘wild’ police encounter during the game’s final minutes.
Advertisement
During the 2011 lockout, Kobe Bryant had called DeRozan and other NBA stars to hoop in the Drew League. And when Kobe calls, no questions are asked other than answering him. DeRozan obliged and described his surreal experience watching Kobe drop 45 points and the game-winner. However, while playing his heart out, Kobe also had to face the city police asking him to leave in the game’s final moments. But Kobe being himself, refused to leave and emerged as the game’s star player.
Kobe Bryant refused to leave his 2011 Drew League game after a wild police encounter
Kobe Bryant went toe-to-toe against James Harden in a closely contested game at the Colonel Leon H. Washington Park, Los Angeles. Harden and Bryant emerged as the game’s star players, with the then-OKC Thunder player outscoring the Mamba 47 to 44. This was an unforgettable experience for DeMar DeRozan, and he recalled one of his favorite moments with Kobe Bryant in the game. DeRozan told Iman Shumpert during the Uninterrupted podcast:
“It was crazy even about that story. We was hooping, me, James (Harden) going off and Kobe back-and-forth. It was like three minutes left in the game, the police came to Kobe and was like, ‘Let’s get you out of here before the game is over.’ He was like, ‘I’m not going nowhere. I’m gonna finish the game. He finished the game, hit the game winner and stood in the middle of the court.'”
Every Kobe story just adds to his legacy. ♾🐍
Bulls superstar @DeMar_Derozan is on an all-new episode of #ImanAmongstMen, out now on @UNINTERRUPTED‘s YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts!
📺: https://t.co/BSOVjemz6W
🎧: https://t.co/rto6D6BHxH pic.twitter.com/uoiTrFp5lt— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) July 25, 2023
Kobe Bryant outmatched James Harden’s team with his game-winning shot. This was quite a surreal experience for all the invited NBA stars, with the young players witnessing the Mamba’s glory in its truest form. Even James Harden recalled this experience as one of his favorite Kobe moments in 2017.
Kobe Bryant once named 3 NBA players in his greatest scorers list
During the 2011 Drew League game, Kobe more than welcomed trash-talking and was very much fervent to reply to fans. He even listed himself, Wilt Chamberlain, and Michael Jordan as his top three greatest scorers when replying to either a fan or a player in the stands.
Well, it’s unclear who stands in the number one position on his list. Knowing Kobe, he might even put himself as number one. However, we can only speculate the number one spot on Kobe’s list is someone between him or Jordan.
