"He got the gun out" - Steve Stoute recounts Kobe Bryant's gutsy encounter with New York gangster

Record executive Steve Stoute recounted a story about Kobe Bryant showing his toughness in the face of danger involving a gun. The incident occurred when Stoute and the then-Lakers rookie were out looking for Cristal, a high-end alcohol brand, and encountered an armed man.

In a recent episode of Club Shay Shay, Stoute said he wanted Cristal for himself since Bryant wasn't drinking at the time. However, their attempts to acquire some were thwarted by a group of men who had hoarded the Cristal.

Stoute said Kobe Bryant started teasing a "street guy" about his outfit, which escalated the situation when the man overheard Bryant's remarks and called Stoute outside.

Stoute ended up facing the armed man, and despite Kobe Bryant being just 18 years old and not yet a well-known NBA player, he intervened in the situation.

“I go outside, I'm like, ‘Yo, the young kid, he got the gun out,’” Stoute recounted. “He doesn't even know who Kobe Bryant is. I'm like, ‘He's a young man, he's cool, whatever, whatever.’"

When the rookie went outside and spotted the gun, Stoute advised him to return inside, but Bryant declined.

“When he said, ‘I ain’t going nowhere,’ I’m like, who, what kind of person is this? I’m giving you the out, this is not your problem, I’ll deal with this problem. He don’t want that. This is ‘our’ problem.”

Stoute and Bryant had a connection because Bryant had previously explored a career in rap music before his NBA career exploded.

Today marks the 14th anniversary of the iconic Kobe Bryant no-flinch moment

Today, 14 years ago, one of Kobe Bryant's most iconic moments occurred during a late-season game between the Lakers and the Orlando Magic. Matt Barnes appeared ready to throw the ball directly at Bryant's face following an on-court incident between them.

During an inbound play under the Lakers' basket, Barnes faked a pass directly at Bryant. However, Bryant didn't react, and his unflinching response became a significant part of his legendary status.

In 2015, Bryant discussed the incident with Daily News, explaining that he didn't flinch because he didn't believe Barnes intended to hit him in the face.

"He’s (Barnes) crazy, but he’s not that crazy, so I didn’t bother flinching,” he said. “It was a split second and I processed it pretty quickly. I realized he wasn’t going to do it. We laughed and joked about it a lot when he played together.”

Later, an overhead video of the incident went viral, revealing another angle that showed Barnes did not actually fake the ball directly toward Bryant's head.