Valuetainment - June 16, 2025


＂Left $20M On The Table＂ - Metta World Peace CHOSE Playing With Kobe Over A MASSIVE NBA Contract


Episode Stats

Length

6 minutes

Words per Minute

209.32445

Word Count

1,320

Sentence Count

129


Summary

In this episode, former NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant joins Jemele to discuss his career with the Los Angeles Lakers and the challenges he faced in his first stint with the team. He also talks about his relationship with Kobe and how he dealt with the pressure of playing for the greatest of all time.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 I watched Kobe go after guys and recruit the guys that were not afraid of him, right?
00:00:05.720 You, Barnes, a couple other guys that he wanted to –
00:00:08.220 Jordan did this as well with Rodman and a few other guys that he went after.
00:00:11.420 Yeah.
00:00:11.720 Did he ever call you, try to recruit you, or no?
00:00:15.480 No, he actually didn't, you know, because Kobe's –
00:00:18.100 he's probably going to send his soldiers, which is the Lakers organization.
00:00:21.460 The Lakers called me at 1201, so on June 30th.
00:00:26.340 So that's when the free agency opened.
00:00:28.220 And so I did not expect that call at 1201.
00:00:32.160 I was in L.A. at the SLS hotel, about to go out with my friends.
00:00:36.360 I get a call.
00:00:37.080 We pull over.
00:00:38.300 And then my agent, David Bauman, says, the Lakers want to speak to you.
00:00:43.280 Pardon my French, but my first reaction was, for fucking what?
00:00:47.600 Because I'm like, they just beat us.
00:00:49.460 Like, one, I don't ever think I'm going to play for the Lakers.
00:00:52.320 Two, I'm super competitive.
00:00:53.960 And I'm like, I don't want to speak to the Lakers.
00:00:55.940 He said, they want you on their team.
00:00:59.960 So then I'm like, I was still a little bit defensive.
00:01:02.900 But then I was like, hold on a second.
00:01:04.180 He just said – so now all the stuff is going on in my head.
00:01:07.440 I meet with Dr. Buss the next morning.
00:01:10.240 And he was like, you know, I'm sorry.
00:01:12.500 I'm not going to be able to pay you what you're worth.
00:01:15.300 But we really want you on this team.
00:01:16.960 Straight up he says that opening line.
00:01:18.300 Yeah, that's his opening line.
00:01:19.260 And I said, damn, Dr. Buss, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant.
00:01:23.360 I love Kobe Bryant.
00:01:24.280 I love Kobe.
00:01:25.580 But did you love him then when you're playing against him?
00:01:29.120 No, not when I'm playing against him, no.
00:01:30.480 When I'm playing against him, I don't like RIP Kobe Bryant.
00:01:33.600 When I'm playing against him, no.
00:01:35.020 But when I'm not playing against Kobe, I love Kobe.
00:01:38.300 You know?
00:01:39.360 Totally.
00:01:39.860 I fully understand.
00:01:41.040 Yeah, I love Kobe.
00:01:42.020 So he tells you, he says, so I can't pay you what you're worth.
00:01:45.080 And he's the one negotiating the deal.
00:01:46.820 Who else is it?
00:01:47.400 Is Mitch Kopchik in the room?
00:01:48.500 Just me and Buss.
00:01:49.740 Nobody else is in the room?
00:01:50.980 Nobody.
00:01:51.380 How long was that meeting?
00:01:52.280 We went to the W Hotel.
00:01:53.400 We sat at the bar in the Westwood W Hotel.
00:01:56.420 Sat at the bar.
00:01:57.100 We didn't drink any alcohol.
00:01:58.800 I might have ordered an avocado toast.
00:02:01.220 And that was it.
00:02:01.840 We just talked.
00:02:02.640 Maybe we didn't even order anything.
00:02:04.700 We talked.
00:02:05.780 And that was it.
00:02:06.340 I was like, yep.
00:02:06.800 I said, just send me the contract.
00:02:07.880 I'll just sign it.
00:02:09.720 And he told you the number then?
00:02:11.300 Did he kind of say, I can pay you?
00:02:11.940 Yeah, he said only the mid, mid-level.
00:02:14.040 Mid-level exception.
00:02:14.880 Yeah, mid-level exception.
00:02:15.800 Which usually is $5 million, $6 million in that category.
00:02:17.880 But you could have been worth $10, $20 million, whatever the contract's worth.
00:02:21.260 At that time, it was $12, $15.
00:02:24.180 You know, being a number one guy in the playoff, you know, that's like a $12 to $15.
00:02:27.360 So you're leaving at least $10, $20 million on the table.
00:02:29.240 I left a lot of money on the table.
00:02:31.100 Worth it, though, till today.
00:02:33.960 It's worth it.
00:02:35.140 It's definitely worth it, for sure.
00:02:36.660 Because I learned so much about myself.
00:02:38.700 I learned that I could overcome adversity.
00:02:40.880 You know, you're thinking about the check.
00:02:44.060 Oh, not only the money.
00:02:45.500 That's one piece.
00:02:46.260 But the other piece is you're only averaging 6.9 points.
00:02:50.540 You see?
00:02:50.900 That's tough.
00:02:51.760 Your ego.
00:02:52.760 That's going from where you were in your prime.
00:02:56.260 And keep in mind, every time Kobe didn't play, in my first stint with the Lakers, I was averaging 18.9.
00:03:02.320 I had to tally it up myself because I had to reassure that I was still pretty good.
00:03:06.080 I was having doubt, you know, when you're not shooting the ball year after year after year.
00:03:11.940 You're just a role player in the corner.
00:03:13.860 And when Kobe didn't play, like, you'll see a game with the Spurs.
00:03:17.060 It was like Kawhi and whoever else was on that team.
00:03:19.640 You'll see me playing very well at 26.
00:03:22.360 So I can still play, but when Kobe comes back, now it's back to—
00:03:25.640 Takes that minutes away.
00:03:26.700 Yeah, you get two shots, maybe four, maybe five.
00:03:29.320 What was your relation?
00:03:29.940 The one thing that's very interesting with you is, you know, there's only a few names, stars that people know.
00:03:37.060 You're not a regular player.
00:03:38.640 You were 0-4 defensive player of the year, right?
00:03:40.840 You're, you know, you got 19 years you played in the NBA, you know, with six teams.
00:03:46.100 And you're going to go down as arguably one of the greatest defenders of all time, you know, perimeter defense.
00:03:51.540 You were just—you were ridiculous.
00:03:54.100 Playing against you was annoying, right?
00:03:55.800 I bet guys probably didn't want to go up against you.
00:03:57.800 Yeah, definitely not.
00:03:58.720 But you defended—you played—you defended against Michael, against Kobe, and against LeBron, right?
00:04:04.260 You played defense.
00:04:04.860 That's not a lot of people that can say that.
00:04:06.820 It's—there's a lot of people that did, but not defending them, right?
00:04:10.060 Where you got defending all three of them.
00:04:11.900 So Kobe as a teammate, at that time when you come in, is he lifting you up?
00:04:16.800 Is he punking you?
00:04:18.280 Is he talking shit?
00:04:19.500 Is he saying, let's go have dinner?
00:04:21.500 Is he asking you how's family, how's everything?
00:04:24.460 What is his mentality like on—is he saying, hey, we whooped your ass, now you're here.
00:04:30.200 You know, you came from the Rockets here.
00:04:31.640 What is he telling you now that you're his teammate?
00:04:34.000 Let's have a good practice.
00:04:35.680 Let's get ready to win a championship.
00:04:37.300 There's not a lot of banter going back and forth for Kobe.
00:04:39.560 You know, we didn't have a relationship, and Kobe is very aware.
00:04:44.380 He got to know I can't—I can't wait to get to practice because he knows me.
00:04:49.680 He knows I got that fire.
00:04:50.880 That's why he brought me.
00:04:51.900 He has to know that I'm bringing it, the first possession of our first practice.
00:04:58.480 So our first practice, I'm sure he couldn't wait, and I couldn't wait.
00:05:03.760 And now I got him, and he got me every day for two hours or three hours in training camp.
00:05:11.360 So the first practice, you know, we're going against each other.
00:05:14.260 We're not in a starting group yet, so, you know, we couldn't wait.
00:05:17.760 Now, he played very well.
00:05:18.820 I must say, he played very well, but I was also very physical, if that makes sense.
00:05:23.740 I was on him.
00:05:25.920 Now, he scored, but it was definitely something to watch.
00:05:29.840 Was there friction, like, in practice with the two of you or no?
00:05:31.980 For sure.
00:05:32.480 But was there friction?
00:05:33.780 Like, you know, you hear stories about Michael and Steve Kerr, you know, that kind of friction?
00:05:37.400 Or Samaki Walker.
00:05:38.740 I think Walker and Kobe had an issue one time on the bus.
00:05:41.720 I don't know if you've heard that story before.
00:05:42.640 No, I didn't hear it.
00:05:43.360 Nothing like that.
00:05:44.140 It was nothing like we were about to fight, but it was definitely very aggressive.
00:05:48.540 Hey, what's up?
00:05:49.240 I'm Metal World Peace, the chairman of Art Test Management Group, and now I am officially on my neck.
00:05:55.240 I want you to reach out to me.
00:05:57.000 I got a lot of things to offer.
00:05:58.560 Whether you wanted to chat about sports, basketball, on the business side, business development, consultation, brand strategy, foreign relations, and more.
00:06:09.560 I look forward to connecting with you on my neck.
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