“Kobe Bryant Was Never Happier!”: Stephen a Smith Recalls His Last Meeting With Lakers Legend

If the measure of one’s life is the legacy they leave behind, Kobe Bryant had an incredible life. Though cut short tragically, his influence continues to linger and impact people.

Stephen A. Smith shared his memory of the last time he met Kobe on an episode of the Full Send podcast. Even though Smith did not have any idea at the time, that fateful meeting was destined to be the last, as Kobe would die in three weeks. Smith’s recollection paints a picture of Kobe that is different from how the public remembers him. The ‘Black Mamba’ Smith met was a much calmer person, as he had apparently finally come to terms with his ambitions.

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Stephen A Smith’s Last Meeting with Kobe Bryant

While Smith started by saying that it was no one’s business where he’d met Kobe, he soon revealed that it was at a party hosted by a friend. At the party, Smith and Kobe would draw attention because they hugged each other for ‘almost fifteen minutes’. Usually, they would just give each a hug and a pound on the back. It was the first of many out-of-character things that happened over the night.

Smith would recount that he noticed Kobe was unusually happy. Though Kobe and Smith had met each other many times over the years, that day, Kobe was different. ‘I’d never seen him that happy’ said Smith reflecting on that moment.

Kobe’s Changed Personna

The Kobe we all knew was a person who was always focused on the next thing he had to do. As they talked, the Black Mamba revealed that he was happy because he had done everything on his ‘initial list, I did it all, they can’t say nothing’. There wasn’t much left to do, in all honestly. Kobe had won everything possible and had cemented his name as one of the greatest ever.

‘For the first time in my life, I’m at peace’ is what Kobe apparently said to Smith. He said that he no longer had that itch to go out and play. Now he could enjoy basketball without it affecting him too much.

While Kobe’s and his daughter Gianna Bryant’s deaths remain a massive tragedy, it is heartening to hear that his last days were happy days. Kobe’s killer mentality was his biggest asset, but it was going to be a hindrance to normal life.  That he managed to come to terms with it means that he truly felt that his career was complete and he had nothing left to prove.

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