By admin 
Being the ferocious competitor that he was, Kobe Bryant didn’t spend much time fraternizing with his fellow NBA players. Instead, he kept to himself and spent most of his time working on the nuances of his game. However, Bryant always had a soft spot for those who approached the game with the same doggedness as he did.
Read more Reports: RB Najee Harris to sign 1-year deal with Giants
It was for that reason that he and Corey Maggette became friends. Although they competed like feral hounds for dominance over Los Angeles (Corey played for the L.A. Clippers), they were as thick as thieves. Corey even recalled a time when Kobe asked him to spend the day at Six Flags, an amusement park renowned for its roller coasters and thrilling rides.
Kobe arrived in a helicopter
Corey narrated that he was surprised to receive a call from Kobe one day, who asked if he wanted to spend the day with him at Six Flags. With nothing else to do, the Clippers wingman agreed, to which the Lakers ace said they would see who would get there first.
“So here I go. I’m gone. I’m in the car. I’m flying, you know, to get to Six Flags Great America. I get a message from Kobe. ‘Oh, man, I had a little bit of car trouble, man. You know, but I’ll beat you. I’ll still beat you there,'” Corey
“So I get there. I get to Six Flags. I’m waiting, I’m waiting, I’m waiting, I’m waiting. I’m like, ‘Man, I’m here first.'”
All of a sudden, he heard a chopper approaching the park. Maggette wasn’t surprised to see Bryant arrive in such grand fashion.
“It’s a damn helicopter that lands right in the middle of the park. Literally lands in the middle of the park. Wind blowing, everything flowing, you know, trying to get the dust out, trying to figure out what’s going on. It’s Kobe,” he continued. “He steps out of there, you know, like, ‘Sorry I’m late.'”
As the amusement park’s staff and security personnel scrambled to secure the park for Kobe and his companions, Corey recalled that some people were still milling around. And when they saw who was amongst them, they couldn’t help but cheer.
“I’m walking, we’re talking, and we’re walking through, and it’s about 2,000 people. They see that it’s Kobe. Kobe has all this security around him. You have all the people at Six Flags, their security, their managers, all there,” Corey added. “And the fans, they’re screaming, ‘Let’s go, Lakers!’ Screaming. And they’re, ‘Yeah, man, Kobe, you and D-Fish are the best! You and D-Fish!'”
Corey immediately looked around, searching for Kobe’s backcourt partner and multiple-time champion, Derek Fisher. Suddenly, it dawned upon him.
Read more Report: News of Jon Rahm’s return to PGA Tour premature
“Oh, no. They’re thinking I’m D-Fish,” he stated, laughing at the memory. “So the whole time as I’m walking the park, they’re calling me Derek Fisher the entire time. So I’m like, ‘Man, that ain’t no damn Derek Fisher,’ you know?”
Related: “Mostly big black gay ladies and a few scared-looking Sophie Cunninghams” – Joe Rogan calls out NBA-WNBA sexuality double standard
Kobe let his guard down
As mentioned, Bryant earned a reputation for being aloof for good reason. He kept his guard up at all times and rarely let anyone into his inner circle, a circle Maggette was part of. So, as they went on one ride after another, Corey didn’t see one of the greatest players in league history; he saw a man who legitimately loved amusement parks.
“So we get there, we walk, we get on all the rides. Like, he was adamant. He loved, he loved, he loved amusement parks!”Corey relayed.
Maggette revealed that there’s one picture of him and Bryant on a ride where he has this weird look on his face. He explained that it wasn’t a look of fright or excitement. Rather, it was a picture of a man who never thought he’d be at an amusement park, hanging out with the Black Mamba.
“I was thinking about, like, ‘Damn, like, I would go to amusement parks with my family, you know, with my boys, whoever we wanted to go with. And here I am with one of the best players in the NBA. And we’re chopping it up. We enjoying this time, getting popcorn, hot dogs, just chilling,” he disclosed. “And I was stuck in that moment. It was like a timeless moment of, I would say, more the humanity in Kobe.”
Kobe is often depicted as a basketball god and a sports deity. However, in that moment, with his guard down, he was a man who was chilling with a close friend and having a blast.
Related: Corey Maggette marvels at the resiliency Kobe Bryant showed in 2006: “He just kept hooping. He didn’t say anything”
Read more Reports: RB Najee Harris to sign 1-year deal with Giants
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published August 18, 2026 at 10:14 AM.