It took a while before Kobe Bryant and Metta World Peace finally got to know each other beyond basketball. Bryant, true to his brand, was too focused on the gym when they won a title together in 2010. But he and Peace shared more personal time later, during their final seasons with the Lakers around 2015.
"He inspired me to get into all kinds of business, he really inspired me," Peace told the Daily News. "He told me when I was 40 I was going to have a second wind."
Today, Peace is 40 years old and feels like Bryant was prophetic. He has businesses lined up, a documentary on Showtime. He was hoping to share good news with Bryant soon, but, like everybody else, Peace never envisioned time as a constraint.
"I wanted to show him what I was doing, but I didn't want to bring him anything until I had stuff set, so I was actually kind of waiting until a certain deal was complete," Peace said. "And I thought I had time to text him, and say, 'Kobe, guess what? I made this much money or this thing is complete.'
"I thought we'd have a mutual dinner maybe when he's 42, 43 or something. I didn't know this was coming."
Bryant died Sunday at 41 years old, the victim of a tragic helicopter crash that also killed his 13-year-old daughter, Gigi. Peace discovered the news via text, and the confirmations arrived so rapidly he didn't have time to believe it was fake. He soon received calls from Kevin Garnett and Lou Williams. Two days later, he preferred not to describe his emotions because they couldn't equal the sorrows of the Bryant family.
"Whatever I'm feeling, they're feeling that multiplied by a billion times," said Peace, a Queens native who is living in L.A. and three years removed from his final NBA season. "I'm just worried about other people."
In many ways, Bryant saved Peace's career and reputation. They saved each other, actually. Immediately after Bryant lost the 2008 Finals to the Celtics, Peace walked into the Lakers locker room and, not wanting to wait, approached a naked Bryant in the shower. As Bryant explained in the Showtime documentary, "Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story," Peace told him he'd be joining the Lakers and such a defeat would never happen again. Two years later, they beat the Celtics together in the NBA Finals.
Peace, whose reputation was still assigned to the 'Malice in the Palace' of 2004, hit the victory-sealing 3-pointer in Game 7 off a pass from Bryant. Within a year of teaming with Kobe, Peace went from a reclamation project with a short fuse to a champion.
"He was striving to be the best and he was somebody to strive for," Peace said. "Just paying attention to him, and what he's done. ... I don't know what to say. There's not a lot of words you can say right now."
Although Bryant wasn't so sociable because of his focus on basketball perfection, there was a personal anecdote Peace recalled enthusiastically. Both players had dabbled in hip-hop, both releasing separate albums earlier in their careers. One night as teammates, Bryant came to Peace's hotel room and asked him to drop a beat. They proceeded to flow. It's something Peace will treasure forever.
"We only did it once, going back and forth. It was written rhymes. It was all written," Peace said. "That was a fun moment."
