Carmelo Anthony shares Christmas games not denting Kobe Bryant's Mamba mentality: "If I was like f**king around"

Kobe Bryant’s legendary NBA career has so many stories of relentlessness, passion and compassion that it doesn’t end. Every current veteran NBA player has a story related to Bryant and how the B.ack Mamba either helped them or challenged them on the court.

In a recent episode of the “7 PM in Brooklyn” podcast, co-hosted by Carmelo Anthony and The Kid Mero, Anthony spoke in detail about what playing against Bryant made it special for him. He talked about how Kobe approached the Christmas Day games.

Anthony said that Bryant didn't want players to play the Christmas Day game like any other game of the regular season. He wanted the star players to put on a show on the marquis day for the league.

“Kobe, you know what you was getting yourself into," Anthony said. "It's Christmas. Everybody is watching. … I am shooting this bi*** a thousand times. It was more like you know what they came here to see. If I was, like, fu***** around, F*** you doing? Tighten up. You know what we here for. 'F*** is you passing the ball for?'”

Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony played against each other in a Christmas Day game during the 2012-13 season. The LA Lakers won 100-94 over Anthony's Knicks. Both Bryant and Melo scored 34 points each.

Lakers gift fans Kobe Bryant T-shirt on Christmas Day game

Kobe Bryant left an immortal legacy in the hearts of NBA fans. However, his place among Lakers fans will always remain special. The Lakers found the perfect time to gift their fans over the Mamba’s legacy.

Before the Christmas Day game between the Boston Celtics and the Lakers in the Crypto.com arena, every seat in the arena had a white Nike T-shirt placed on it. The shirt had “That’s Mamba” written on the chest with Kobe’s sheath logo right below it.

The Lakers also reposted a video from Nike Basketball on their official X account. The video showed Bryant’s basketball career, captioning it:

"Passion. Obsession. Fearless. Resilience. Relentless. That’s Mamba.”

The Lakers and Nike have helped immortalize Kobe in the hearts of NBA fans. Recently, Nike has put up a “That’s Mamba” mural in Venice and “That’s Mamba” billboards in New York.

Kobe deeply cared about his fans in the building and tried to show up for them even when he was not in his best health condition to play through the game. He always knew his responsibility towards young kids who admired him and wanted to become a good example for them.

Being the best version of oneself, that’s what Kobe’s message was to the fans and that’s what he meant by Mamba mentality.