How a young Kobe Bryant once compared himself to Will Smith and left fellow basketball player Shaquille O&#039;Neal speechless

“The next Will Smith”- How an Up-and-Coming Kobe Bryant Left Shaq Speechless Over His Crazy Commitment

Late basketball legend Kobe Bryant wanted to be the next Will Smith. While Will
Smith is considered to be a living legend for his career in Hollywood, Kobe
Bryant was at the pinnacle of his basketball career. Both of them came from
humble beginnings and struggled immensely to reach the well-deserved fame and
fan following.

[data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==]

Unfortunately, Bryant passed away in 2020 in an accident, but fellow players and
fans remember him fondly to this day. Fellow basketball player Shaquille O’Neal
had a bittersweet dynamic with him. The latter shared how his Lakers mate once
left him speechless by making a comparison of himself to Will Smith.


HOW A CONFIDENT KOBE BRYANT COMPARED HIMSELF TO WILL SMITH ONCE

Humans tend to define the pinnacles of success by looking up to an example. For
basketball player Kobe Bryant, it was actor Will Smith. In the 2011 book Shaq
Uncut, Shaquille O’Neal mentioned
[https://thesportsrush.com/nba-news-i-am-going-to-be-the-will-smith-of-the-nba-when-kobe-bryant-stunned-7ft-1-shaquille-oneal-with-his-outrageous-claim/]
how a young Bryant was immature but confident of his own success.

[data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==]

While traveling with him on the bus once, the latter said, “I’m going to be the
number one scorer for the Lakers, I’m going to win five or six championships,
and I’m going to be the best player in the game.” At that point, O’Neal just
shrugged it off until he was left speechless by Bryant’s statement, “I’m going
to be the Will Smith of the NBA.” 

ALSO READ: Will Smith Could Have Avoided the Oscar Controversy Had He Listened
to Kobe Bryant
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-will-smith-could-have-avoided-the-oscar-controversy-had-he-listened-to-kobe-bryant/]

It was likely difficult for the former to believe his mate’s statement but it
turned out to be true. Both the Lakers players have won three back-to-back
championships and are considered one of the most successful basketball players
of all time. Although they also shared rivalry which came in the way of their
continued success for their team.

[data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==]

O’Neal also admitted to being harder on Bryant, who was lovingly called as
Mamba. But appreciated his hard work despite their differences. As for Bryant’s
prediction of his own career, he was astonishingly accurate in how it would turn
out. What do you think of Kobe Bryant’s comparison of himself to the I Am Legend
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-will-will-smith-face-a-challenge-of-his-own-while-returning-for-the-first-ever-sequel-of-a-movie-in-i-am-legend-2/]
actor? Comment your thoughts.

Neha Subhash

Comment

“The next Will Smith”- How an Up-and-Coming Kobe Bryant Left Shaq Speechless Over His Crazy Commitment - Netflix Junkie

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Neha Ghag is a prime-time entertainment writer for Netflix Junkie, who has written nearly 1000 articles, immersing herself in pop culture. Writing was not her first choice, but she has now found solace in unraveling the fascinating stories of public figures' personal and professional lives. Neha is a fan of classic hip-hop and psycho thrillers, and she can talk endlessly about Kanye West. Her contribution to NJ's live coverage of big events such as Oscars 2023 has been invaluable. Neha firmly believes in the art of storytelling and aspires to become a renowned columnist. When she's not writing, she indulges in her love for travel and exploring new places.

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“The next Will Smith”- How an Up-and-Coming Kobe Bryant Left Shaq Speechless Over His Crazy Commitment - netflix-junkie

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Late basketball legend Kobe Bryant wanted to be the next Will Smith. While Will Smith is considered to be a living legend for his career in Hollywood, Kobe Bryant was at the pinnacle of his basketball career. Both of them came from humble beginnings and struggled immensely to reach the well-deserved fame and fan following.
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-73885 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped_CrzXY6QUsAAbb8D.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="966" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped_CrzXY6QUsAAbb8D.jpg 1280w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped_CrzXY6QUsAAbb8D-300x226.jpg 300w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped_CrzXY6QUsAAbb8D-1024x773.jpg 1024w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped_CrzXY6QUsAAbb8D-768x580.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" />
Unfortunately, Bryant passed away in 2020 in an accident, but fellow players and fans remember him fondly to this day. Fellow basketball player Shaquille O&#8217;Neal had a bittersweet dynamic with him. The latter shared how his Lakers mate once left him speechless by making a comparison of himself to Will Smith.
<h2>How a confident Kobe Bryant compared himself to Will Smith once</h2>
Humans tend to define the pinnacles of success by looking up to an example. For basketball player Kobe Bryant, it was actor Will Smith. In the 2011 book Shaq Uncut, Shaquille O&#8217;Neal <a href="https://thesportsrush.com/nba-news-i-am-going-to-be-the-will-smith-of-the-nba-when-kobe-bryant-stunned-7ft-1-shaquille-oneal-with-his-outrageous-claim/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mentioned</a> how a young Bryant was immature but confident of his own success.
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-73883 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/200413-shaquille-oneal-kobe-bryant-cs-1211p.jpg" alt="" width="2500" height="1675" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/200413-shaquille-oneal-kobe-bryant-cs-1211p.jpg 2500w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/200413-shaquille-oneal-kobe-bryant-cs-1211p-300x201.jpg 300w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/200413-shaquille-oneal-kobe-bryant-cs-1211p-1024x686.jpg 1024w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/200413-shaquille-oneal-kobe-bryant-cs-1211p-768x515.jpg 768w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/200413-shaquille-oneal-kobe-bryant-cs-1211p-1536x1029.jpg 1536w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/200413-shaquille-oneal-kobe-bryant-cs-1211p-2048x1372.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" />
While traveling with him on the bus once, the latter said, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to be the number one scorer for the Lakers, I&#8217;m going to win five or six championships, and I&#8217;m going to be the best player in the game.&#8221; At that point, O&#8217;Neal just shrugged it off until he was left speechless by Bryant&#8217;s statement, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to be the Will Smith of the NBA.&#8221; 
ALSO READ: <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-will-smith-could-have-avoided-the-oscar-controversy-had-he-listened-to-kobe-bryant/">Will Smith Could Have Avoided the Oscar Controversy Had He Listened to Kobe Bryant</a>
It was likely difficult for the former to believe his mate&#8217;s statement but it turned out to be true. Both the Lakers players have won three back-to-back championships and are considered one of the most successful basketball players of all time. Although they also shared rivalry which came in the way of their continued success for their team.
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-69518 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/will-smith-gq-cover-november-2021-a-e1668116332562.webp" alt="" width="1781" height="1395" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/will-smith-gq-cover-november-2021-a-e1668116332562.webp 1781w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/will-smith-gq-cover-november-2021-a-e1668116332562-300x235.webp 300w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/will-smith-gq-cover-november-2021-a-e1668116332562-1024x802.webp 1024w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/will-smith-gq-cover-november-2021-a-e1668116332562-768x602.webp 768w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/will-smith-gq-cover-november-2021-a-e1668116332562-1536x1203.webp 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1781px) 100vw, 1781px" />
O&#8217;Neal also admitted to being harder on Bryant, who was lovingly called as Mamba. But appreciated his hard work despite their differences. As for Bryant&#8217;s prediction of his own career, he was astonishingly accurate in how it would turn out. What do you think of Kobe Bryant&#8217;s comparison of himself to the <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-will-will-smith-face-a-challenge-of-his-own-while-returning-for-the-first-ever-sequel-of-a-movie-in-i-am-legend-2/">I Am Legend</a> actor? Comment your thoughts.

Will Smith Could Have Avoided the Oscar Controversy Had He Listened to Kobe
Bryant

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How a young Kobe Bryant once compared himself to Will Smith and left fellow basketball player Shaquille O'Neal speechless

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“The next Will Smith”- How an Up-and-Coming Kobe Bryant Left Shaq Speechless Over His Crazy Commitment

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