"Yo, like he's nice": Stephen Curry recalls fond memory of Kobe Bryant giving him validation in his rookie year

A lot of players have unique memories of the late Kobe Bryant, recalling their interaction with him. Whether it'd be during a first match-up or even attending one of his training camps, many NBA players looked to Bryant for validation and inspiration.

Stephen Curry also has a fond memory of the late Bryant. He recalled it in a segment of First We Feast's "Hot Ones" and said:

"It's my rookie year. We were playing the Lakers at home. [Kobe] leans to the guy sitting next to him and kinda mouths, 'Yo, like he's nice.' That's the dopest thing in the world. Kobe is validating your game. And he's just seeing you play like for real for the first time."

From Curry's perspective, it was an incredible moment for him as he was a rookie at the time, who was trying to make his mark in the league.

Host Sean Evans mentioned during the show that Kobe Bryant was one of the first NBA players that recognized Stephen Curry's killer mentality. This was even before he got his first MVP award during the 2014-15 season.

In the same segment, Curry also mentioned his second memory of the Lakers star that he is most fond of:

"We were playing in a preseason game. He was doing the Mamba Mentality thing, wherein he's picking me up full court in a preseason game in a first quarter. He bumps me and I kind of fall off balance, I shot it from 30 feet and I made it. He gave me a little a** tap on the way back."

Curry later added that he went back into the game during halftime and requested a clip of the highlight play between him and Bryant.

A compliment from Kobe Bryant himself wasn't common back then, which made the feeling all the more fulfilling for Stephen Curry.

Looking back on Kobe Byrant's analysis of Stephen Curry's game

An article written by Vikrant Verma for The Sports Rush included the time Kobe Bryant analyzed Stephen Curry's game in an interview.

Bryant said:

"I see a calmness about him. He's not up, he's not down. When a player has the skills and has trained himself to have the skills to be able to shoot, dribble, left, right, etc. And then you mix that with his calmness and poise, then you have a serious, serious problem on your hands."

In the interview, Bryant talked about the elite combination that Curry has with his skillset and the poise that he plays with. Looking back now, it's easy to see what Kobe Bryant saw from the Warriors superstar.