Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jules - Kobe Bryant Stories

Episode Date: April 19, 2026

Untold Kobe Bryant are shared by former NBA Players and executives including Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis, Jeanie Buss, and Robert HorrySupport the show: https://hoo.be/dudesondudesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clivert Show on the I-Hard Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. This is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far. But I'm John Green, co-host of the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup.

Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the Away End with Daniel Alricone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I am Greg Rosenthal. I know that, Greg. We're teaming up on 40s and free agents, the podcast that owns the NFL offseason. This is where teams are built. Free agency, combine, pro days, trades.

Every move matters. From my draft boards and mock drafts. To my vaunted top 101 free agents and how roster. come together. Quarterback movement. Surprise signings. We'll tell you what it means and who really wins.

Open your free IHeart radio app. Search 40s and free agents and listen now. On the Sino Show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode,

I sit down with actor, cultural icon, Danny Trail talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to bench featuring powerful conversation with the guests like Tiffany Addish,

Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic. Without this, true, I'm going to die. Listen to Cino's show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to Games with Names. I'm Julian Edelman, and we got a brand new compilation highlight reel starting now. Now, Robert Murray talks about Kobe's thirst for knowledge.

We got any Kobe stories before we go to our next segment? I think for me, you know, when you talk about hard workers, you know, you hear the story. and you hear what he's doing. And you appreciate everything. But the thing he had that nobody ever talking about, he had a thirst for knowledge. That's what I always say. Yeah.

He has, I mean, you can talk about football, basketball, the piano, you know, movies, music. Langley. He had a thirst for everything. You know, I remember when we were on the plane coming from somewhere and we were playing spades and he's sitting there like this, just looking and just looking because he wanted to learn how to play spades.

I'm like, dude, I said, you're black. You're supposed to know how to play spades. space dude he's like as I see this is what happened when you don't go to college you don't have downtime when you had to play space he's also in Italy and shitty yeah yeah and so and it was just weird that you know I taught him how to play space and but I'm gonna back this thing up and real and the first moment I ever met Kobe I just got traded to the Lakers and we just finished um shoot around and this shoot around this dude going like a hundred miles power I'm like dude this is a shoot around calm down I got to get better I said you're not going to get better when we're walking

and you're running. So after practice, he comes over. I thought he's going to, you know, just wanted to get to know me. He was like, so how was Dream? He wanted to know how Dream was, how Dream Footwork would, what kind of work he put in,

and then he wanted to know about Vernon's defense because, you know, Vernon was one of the ones that was known Guard, Michael Jordan the best. He just wanted to know, he's just picking my brain about everybody I played with because he's like,

your champion, tell me how it was. I'm like sitting there, and we literally set out the practice for like 45 minutes, you know, just talking about my two championships was with the Rockets and how it was and how we won and all that kind of stuff.

He was just amazed at, you know, learning dreams footwork. That is a, I mean, that is such a perfect way. I didn't know him, but he came and spoke to our team. And we used to have guys all the time come in, speak in the off-season, come speak to the team. And that's exactly what I think about when I think of Kobe Bryant. Knowledge thirsty. Yes. And how diversified his interests were.

Yes. And the killer instinct that he had. Those are the three things because he was asking, you know, we broke up into some groups and, you know, a couple of us sat with them and talked. And he was asking us just as many questions as we were asking him. You know what I mean? He wants to. He loved winning. Yes.

He just wanted to win. He wanted to do anything it took just from the two hours that I got to spend around him. Yeah. And I think his intensity was too intense for. a lot of people, especially in the basketball world. Because if you go back, there's a lot of people that didn't like him because they didn't understand him. He's like, he had that philosophy as like most people from the 90s had.

Like, I don't want to be your friend. I'm not trying to go hang out with you. I'm trying to kick your butt. And that's the one thing that I appreciate about what Janice said. Now, he says, I'm not trying to be anybody's friend. You can come play with me and then I'll be your friend. But other than that, I don't want to be your friend because if I got a punch in the mouth or got to punch you in the mouth.

and that's the attitude you got to have and I don't know how it is with you guys like I couldn't do with you guys at the end of the game you go out there and you shake hands with everybody I can't do that shit unless I play with him in college I ain't doing that it's definitely changed

and Brady went on record a couple days ago saying that you know how it's changed like that we I remember I hated the New York Jets when I first got there I remember Bart Scott getting into my fucking offensive coordinator Billy O'Brien's face and saying fuck you white boys literally

this close. I'm sitting there, Billy O's motherfucker him. I was like, these people, we really hate this team. That was my introduction to like hating someone. And just a lot of messes. Next, Gilbert Arinas on his phone call with Kobe after dropping 60 points in L.A. So you go

out and you outscore Kobe 60 points or 16 in overtime. He only has four. Legendary game. You find out you have 60. There's some talk that was there, did you guys have a phone call after this? Did he call you or something?

Or am I just getting terrible info? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what ends up happening is, so when we go in the locker room, you know, I'm all excited, right? You know, I scored 60 points on Kobe. In LA. Coach says, yeah, and we won the game.

He's like, and we won the game. I was like, man, fuck that game. I just scored 60 points on Kobe. Do you really think I care about the game winning the game? No, I just scored 60 on Kobe. So everybody's laughing and stuff. And we're getting on the bus and some of the, some of what he said came out like, oh, he had no conscience.

He doesn't have a conscious. So I changed my name to I don't have a conscious. And then Quran gets on the phone. And we're just going back and forth. Oh, we're just going back and forth. And I remember Brennan Haywood was saying, tell him you the mongoose. You tell that man, I'm the black mongoose. Mungoose.

Because I guess that's the rival, the mongoose and the mamba, the black mongoose. No one knows this, but a mongoose will fuck a mamba up, dude. They also have good bikes. Have you watched YouTube a video of a mongoose versus the snake? The mongoose wins, dude. Yeah, but what's so funny, it's like, that is like the equal. Like, so it's like a 50-50 battle between the two. So when I yelled at out here, it's like, all right, we'll see.

I'll be there when I come there have that same energy. Have that same energy when I come there. But I will. Would you have rather, I will. Would you rather have dropped 80 with an L against the Lakers and Kobe? Maybe.

80. 80. 80. Yeah. I mean, it's Kobe Bryant. I mean, I probably, you know, that's like scoring four touchdowns, five touchdowns on like Rebus.

Yeah. It really is. You know, bragging rights forever. I'll take the 80 points. Listen, I'll take the 80 points in the loss. Next up, Aaron Davis explains Kobe's Mamba mentality. You got any Kobe stories where we always have basketball dudes that always give us a Kobe story. Man, tons.

Give us a good one that no one's heard. I do got a funny story. So we play, I was at UCLA. I heard my knee. We're practicing. Now, I can't practice. So UCLA team is practicing. It's the lockout year

About 8.30 Kobe walks in With his trainer And so You know Everybody on the team Like oh shit That you know

Like it's Kobe It's the lockout I was like Oh he probably got the gym For after our practice To like work out And he came early So he was like

You know Saw the practice Walk through Very respectful Went on the side And was just like shooting I was like Damn dude

Kobe over there So I just like start Hoping. Making my way over to the side. And then I'm like, Coach, can I, you know, let me rebound for him. I ain't nobody there to refound. So he's shooting.

I'm rebounding for him. You know, he just, he ain't even really doing nothing. He's just like, you know, he's just talking. And I passed him the ball, and I just do the fake close out. And, you know, about a fourth time throwing the ball. And it's like, bro, we are in a full-on, one-on. game?

Hey, bro, we're in a one-on-one game. I was like, man, I got to get this one-on-one thing. When I look up, the whole UCLA team stop, and they're watching me and Kobe play one-on-one. And I was like, man, you know, he beat me. He's hurt, though. You're hurt. Yeah, I'm hurt.

That's the only, and we used to argue all the time we see each, every time we see each other, I'd be like, bro, you know you can't beat me one-on-one. He was like, bro, I already beat you. He's like, bro, I already beat you. I was like, come on, duh. Like, you know, I was hurt. You know, I was, I don't, I'll beat you.

I was like, all right. And so we were supposed to the year I got hurt in my career ended, we had dinner in New York before, like during the Lincinnity. I was like, hey, bro, Jeremy Lange going to bust y'all ass. I'm telling you, we were sitting at dinner. He was like, come on, y'all, chill. I was like, all right, bro, I'm telling you. Like, he on the road. Do not, do not let this dude bust your ass because I'm telling you, he, every, you, he, every,

Everybody is coming in here getting their head cracked. Come on, BD. I said, all right, dude. And so we made a bet that after the season, we were going to rematch the one-on-one game. And if he beat me, I came to the Lakers. You know what I mean? And then I was like, well, if I beat you, you know, what do I get?

He was like, man, I come speak at your basketball. Now, now. Hey, bro. And then when I thought about it, I was like, well, you know, shit, it is Kobe. Like my whole career is projecting on him beating me. And like, if I beat him, he's going to go speak at my basketball camp. That'd be a hell of a basketball. Yeah, come of you.

I mean, when I first met Kobe, what happened? I knew he was different. So we go over Kobe's house, tour the house, hanging out. You know what I mean? Like, oh, this is my room. Room big is this. And like on this side of the wall, it's just like tapes. Like CD, like DVD's tapes.

I'm like, damn, bro, what's all this? I'm like, hell, you ever want to hang out? He was like, nah, nah. I was like, yeah, you know, like, go out, like, whatever you need, you know, go to movies, get out, and he was like, nah. I was like, what do you be doing? He was like, man, sitting here watching tape. I said, man, you're okay?

Some wrong with you? Bro, he's 18, 19 years old. What the hell? I'm like, yeah, what the hell is wrong? What tapes? Game film? Game film? Game film.

Of who? His? Who knows, bro? It's just, it's like a library and shit. I'm like, how did he get all this? He's my age. Bro, he is sitting there.

You're like, man, this was what I do. And I was like, okay, bro, you like, he was like, yeah. I was like, okay. All right. Well, I'm gonna go hang out. You got good snacks. I'm going to check out the snack.

But, you know, anytime, bro. Anytime you want to hang, I'm good. He was like, yeah, I'm going. doing this. And at that point I knew like, I think it was like a second year with the Lakers. Yeah, it was a second year with the Lakers. And I was just like, man, this dude is going to be like he's that guy. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like he's that guy. He's not. Mama mentality. Now, Jules recalls the time Kobe Bryant came to speak to the Patriots. The Celtics this year were 66 and 16, first in the east. I mean, they were on fire coached by Doc Rivers. Doc. Talk to us one. He came and

Talk to our team. Love Doc. Doc's a legend. We'd always have, like, legendary people or head coaches or business leaders or they would come and speak to the whole team in, like, the offseason. Doc gave an unbelievable presentation to us, talked about winning and what he believes in. And actually, speaking of this, Kobe came and spoke to us, too. Really?

Which was honestly one of the most, he was one of the most interesting humans I've ever heard in that climate. You know what I mean? What do you say to you guys? He just, you could tell through the way he prepared, the way he read a lot of books. He knew like a bunch of languages. Fluent and six languages, I think.

I don't know fluent, new six languages. He was so interesting. And like his attention to detail and his question asking, like he'd ask us questions so then he could take it to where he was going next in whatever. He wasn't playing anymore.

But I mean, you could just tell that guy was a fierce fucking winner. You know, like just eye of the tiger. He'll fucking rip your heart out and like would do it over and over and over and over again just to show you you're not better than him. Like that's the kind of in it. Like you felt that when he spoke. Yeah. You know, it was that was one of the coolest things.

One of the coolest people that came and talked to us. Next, Jeannie Bus opens up about Kobe's impact on the Lakers. What does Kobe mean to the Lakers or? organization. Because he came and played 20 years for one team, that made him very special because he could have easily been traded and chased rings or whatever, but he went through one rebuilding period after winning three. You know, we traded Shaq to Miami, kind of hit bottom for a couple seasons, but then Pao Gassal came and he won two more. So I think that that really endears a player to fans because they stick with it. They stick with their team. And, you know, he loved

the Lakers and the Laker fans loved him. And, you know, I talk about how glad that we had the opportunity because we retired both his numbers. He wore eight and 24. And if you just, took his career as number eight and his career while wearing 24. Both of those players would have gone in the Hall of Fame. So we decided to retire both his numbers. And we had an opportunity to celebrate him while he was still alive. And I know that Kobe knew how much we loved him and appreciated him. What's your favorite memory of them? Your story. What's the one thing, like your happy place? You know, he, he was somebody that, you know, after my father passed away, he saw that I struggled. And, you know, he was always

trying to cheer me on. And, you know, I was, you know, with Phil, Jackson for 15 years. And when Phil took the job to go to the New York Knicks, the NBA literally made us sign, you know, an agreement that he and I would not talk about basketball. No cahoots. Yeah. They just can't be in cahoots over there. Right. And, you know, but when two brothers are running two different teams or, you know, it's something about the male. Female relationship, which I don't know how fair that is. But anyway, that kind of became, that kind of eroded my relationship because he was in New York. I was in L.A.

But when Phil laughed, he said, you know, I want you to know, I can't help you anymore. Like you can't call me and bounce ideas off of me. but you always have Kobe and Kobe will always have your back. You know, you can trust Kobe. And, you know, Kobe was that friend for me. Wow. And you can't replace that. No.

Sorry for bringing it up. No, that's okay. I love to talk about Kobe, always. I can see how much you care about them through how you answer your questions and how big of an impact his career had with the Lakers. It's very touching. It's crazy.

Everyone remembers that day. You know, if you're a sport fan or any kind of fan, anyone, everyone remembers that day. Well, in Lucas press conference, once he was traded here, he said this, the only thing that would make this better is if Kobe and G.G. were here. Yeah. So even he. He understands. Yeah.

LA was heartbroken over the loss of Kobe and this. And there was one play that AD won a game, I think, against in the Denver series, where he hit a shot at the buzzer and he screamed Kobe's name. And everybody heard it because there was no fans, but everybody could hear it on the microphone picked it up. And it was, that's how we all felt. This was for Kobe. You know, the Lakers, you guys have so many great players.

And I, I, you don't want to miss any of them. We got to do like a word association. We got to do a word association. First word that comes up to your mind when we bring up a player. Shaq. Goofy. Goofy. He loved to like play pranks, do, you know, he just, it's like a big kid.

Kareem. Brilliant mind. Brilliant. Magic. his smile could light up, you know, Los Angeles. Like he, he, he in Los Angeles are soulmates. LeBron. Tough.

Phil. Zen. Your dad. He, he loved this team. The Lakers. He just synonymous. Yeah. Thanks for listening. Remember to tune in every Tuesday for a brand new episode and every

Sunday for another games with names highlight. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Cliford Show on the I Heart Radio. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. This is much more famous than I am.

I wouldn't go that far. But I'm John Green, co-host of the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Alarcon and John Green on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I am Greg Rosenthal. I know that, Greg. We're teaming up on 40s and free agents, the podcast that owns the NFL offseason. This is where

teams are built. Free agency, combine, pro days, trades. Every move matters. From my draft boards and mock drafts to my vaunted top 101 free agents and how rosters come together. Quarterback movement. Surprise signings. We'll tell you what it means and who really wins. Open your free iHeart radio app. Search 40s and free agents and listen now. On the Sino Show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon Danny Trail to talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances. The entire season is now available to Bench, featuring

powerful conversation with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic, and without this group, I'm going to die. Listen to the Cino's show on the I-Hare radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.