Tracy McGrady on Kobe Bryant saying he "cooked" him one-on-one: "You was playing against me, and I ain't noticed"

Tracy McGrady 's favorite Kobe Bryant story is when Bean allegedly beat him 11-2 in a one-on-one game during a trip to Germany when they were younger.

McGrady said he was on a business trip in China when the Los Angeles Lakers legend first told that story. When Tracy's Chinese partners showed him the news, the retired NBA guard was so shocked that he had to hear it from the Black Mamba.

"So I called up Kob, and 'What? What are you talking about?' He was like, 'Yeah, man. Remember our trip to Germany?' I said, 'Bro, I've never been to Germany with you.' What are you talking about? These are the reports," McGrady said.

Mamba was keeping score

Kobe first told the story in a 2013 interview for ESPN Magazine . While talking about playing one-on-one against the all-time greats, ESPN's Chris Palmer told Bryant he always wanted to see him go up against T-Mac. That's when Kobe claimed he beat McGrady 11-2.

However, it seems that the two NBA legends never spent time together in Germany. An 18-year-old Tracy, however, did accept Bryant's invitation to visit him and his parents in Paris . It was there that the high school phenom worked out with the young Lakers star, with Kobe keeping score during practice sessions.

"He said, 'Yeah, Mac.' I said, 'No, bro. We went to Paris,'" added McGrady. "I said, 'We never played one-on-one.' I said, 'We were working on our individual skills. We were guarding each other.' I said, 'Damn, you was keeping score? You was playing against me, and I ain't noticed?' That was him.'"

Related: Vince Carter recalls Kobe Bryant's first game with the Patterson New Jersey AAU team: "His first shot was from halfcourt, and he shoots an airball"

Different interview, different score

In 2019, the two sat down with Rachel Nichols for an interview at Kobe's Mamba Sports Academy to finally set the record straight. But to Tracy's surprise, the Lakers legend told a slightly different version of the story once again.

"So fast forward, years later, we've both retired. We do this interview with Rachel, and he gets on the show. And he said, 'Yeah, I beat you 11-4'. I said, 'Kob, bro, you're changing your story.' I learned at a young age from being with Kobe that he loved to play mind games just to test you," McGrady said.

Kobe might have forgotten where their one-on-one game took place or even what the exact score was. However, even though T-Mac continues to deny ever playing the Lakers legend in practice, it's hard to believe that one didn't happen based on Bryant's boasting.

Related: "He could do everything I could, but he was 6'10" - Kobe Bryant crowned Tracy McGrady as the toughest player he guarded in his career