Monta Ellis Recalls Story About How Ruthless Kobe Bryant Was

Kobe Bryant is one of the best basketball players the NBA has ever seen. He is an idol for every young basketball player. Kobe supported players and their efforts to develop insane skills. The Black Mamba was a beast on the floor. Former Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis knows it best.

Ellis says that the Black Mamba was actually the toughest opponent he has ever confronted. The former Warrior praised Kobe’s kill mode. Kobe wasn’t someone you could be comfortable with. He was always waiting for his turn. Guarding him was impossible. Ellis enjoyed their “battles” on the floor.

“I used to have some good one-on-ones in practice with [Baron Davis] and all of those guys,” Ellis said. “In a game, it was Kobe. Oh my goodness. He hit crazy tough shots. He was always on the attack. Kobe was in kill mode. If he ever laid back, don’t ever get comfortable with it. It’s like, he’s just waiting his turn. If you say something crazy, if he feels any kind of excitement, he turns up. It was unbelievable to guard him.”

Monta Ellis praised Kobe

Ellis was playing in the years between 2005 and 2017. He met Bryant during his primetime. One particular game showed him that Kobe was one of a kind. He had never met anyone like him.

“Oh, man. 2011. Me and him were going back and forth,” Ellis recalled. “He had like 30 something. I had like 40 something or close to that. They ended up winning because he hit a clutch shot at the end. And he hit it on me. There were two or three, maybe four possessions where he came down and scored, I came down and scored, he came back down and scored, I came back down and scored. We were going back and forth like that, for like 4-5 minutes straight.”

Kobe was praised by someone who had the chance to play against him. Ellis was watching Kobe closely. The Black Mamba was elected for this years’ Hall of Fame class. Kobe deserves to be part of the basketball HOF, and he was honored in the first year of eligibility.

A lot of NBA players have honored Kobe in the past few months. He died on January 26. Eight other people traveled in the same helicopter, including his 13-year old Gianna. The NBA lost a big name, but we will always remember Kobe as a brilliant basketball mind.