The late, great Kobe Bryant was a basketball savant who saw greatness in others long before the world did - and Golden State Warriors legend Stephen Curry was one of those talents. Before the Dubs sharpshooter was lighting up arenas from the three-point line and collecting MVPs in his prime, Curry struggled to stay on the court at the start of his NBA career following a fruitful run with Davidson at the college level.
While everyone went on to have their doubts on whether Curry could thrive at the next level, Bryant saw a killer waiting for his coming out party.
During an interview towards the end of his career, Kobe explained what he saw in Curry that most players didn't understand.
"I see a calmness about him. I think that's something a lot of players don't understand. The fans, it's really hard for the fans to understand what I'm saying. Most players don't get it. But there's a serious calmness about him which is extremely deadly. He's not up, he's not down. He's not contemplating what's just happened before or worrying about what's to come next - he's just there. And 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 this calmness and poise, then you have a serious, serious problem on your hands. When I watch him play, that's what I see," he said.
Kobe's validation
Perhaps even more so than producing on the court and proving his doubters wrong, Kobe's comments proved to be the ultimate validation for Steph, who undoubtedly had some internal self-doubt given the turbulent start to his professional journey.
While Curry plays in the modern NBA, he's cut from the old-school cloth when it comes to his mentality and desire to compete. Naturally, that means that Kobe's comments act as the ultimate peer recognition, and Curry was beaming from ear to ear when he saw the interview.
"Kob' did an interview once, it's one of my favorite comments about me in terms of how he saw the killer instinct behind the smile. I can have fun and joy, I'm still out there to rip your heart out. It's just a different way that it looks," he said.
Kobe was spot-on
Oftentimes, some of the game's all-time greats prematurely dub greatness on one of the rising stars of the next generation, but Kobe made no mistake on this occasion.
Even when Curry started to show signs he could ascend into an All-Star in the league, analysts questioned whether he had the carrying power to be a genuine scoring option on a championship-caliber team, but they failed to see the assassin Bryant knew he was deep down.
Needless to say Kobe hit the nail on the head with this one, as Curry exceeded expectations and has played himself into the top-10 ever conversation with what he's achieved.
Related: Kobe Bryant said that Coach K brought back the pride of playing for Team USA: "When we won in Beijing, I envisioned our troops abroad celebrating"
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