Nick Young has revealed a surprisingly wild side of the late Kobe Bryant, and honestly, this is not the version of Kobe most Lakers fans remember.
Bryant built a legendary reputation during his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was intense, demanding and the teammate who could look at you after one bad defensive possession and make you question every life decision that brought you to the NBA.
But according to Young, Kobe had another side.
Speaking on the Club Shay Shay podcast, Young shared a story about Kobe throwing a party for the Lakers that involved strippers. Yes, the same Kobe who was known for demanding perfection apparently knew how to loosen up when the basketball was over.
Nick Young recalls Kobe Bryant throwing the Lakers a stripper party at the start of the season, then leaving the team to enjoy it
“Kobe was hard on you, yeah, he was. But Kobe was cool though.”
“I remember at the beginning of the season, Kobe would have a party for the team to… pic.twitter.com/wh2MN5F9Te
— Bassey (@0xBassey) October 7, 2026
That certainly adds another chapter to the Kobe Bryant teammate handbook.
When host Shannon Sharpe asked Young about Bryant being hard on him during their three seasons together on the Lakers, he shared how the icon once threw a stripper party for them.
“Yeah, he was,” Young said. “But Kobe was cool though. People don’t know, the beginning of the season, Kobe have like a party for the team to get together. Had a stripper party. Yeah, like a little stripper party. But he taught me a little bit of swag ’cause he had had a party, had the bottles and the girls come, and then he’ll leave.
“You just won’t see Kobe no more,” Young continued. “… So we eat, and he’s like, ‘Man, I got y’all a little something something.’ We go upstairs. We see the strippers and stuff. And then Kobe was like, ‘Y’all have fun,’ and leave out. I was like, ‘Man, thank you.’ That’s swag though. Thank you. I learned… That’s a little swag, but thank you. I’ll take the one you want.”
Young’s story is a reminder that even the most intense athletes have a lighter side.
Kobe’s legacy will always be built around championships, legendary performances and his relentless work ethic. But stories like this show that there was also a human being behind the famous Mamba mentality.
And thanks to Nick Young, we now have one more reason to believe Kobe knew how to surprise his teammates.
