Kobe Bryant once gave teenage LeBron James a pair of shoes

Kobe Bryant can be such a teddy bear sometimes.

Best known for his ruthless competitive drive and insane sense of self, warm and fuzzy Kobe stories were difficult to come by during his prime. But, in 2002, he apparently broke character long enough to hook up a teenage LeBron James with some sneaker swag.

Here’s James reminiscing about that moment ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Wednesday night matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, courtesy of ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin:

"“I think my most fond moment is he gave me his shoes when I was in high school,” James said. “I think I was playing in a tournament in Teaneck, New Jersey, and they were playing in the [2002] All-Star game in Philly. And I had an opportunity to go meet him, and he gave me a pair of his shoes, and I actually wore them in a game against Oak Hill, against Melo [Carmelo Anthony], actually. So, six degrees of separation right there.”"

That’s an encounter you cherish forever, and the shoes are something you never, ever give up.

Related: LeBron apparently gave them up, or misplaced them, or lost them to Carlos Boozer during a 2003 Yahtzee tournament. Either that, or he’s so loyal to the Nike brand he threw them away as soon as he put pen to paper on his first sneaker deal.

Kobe was still under the Adidas umbrella when he gifted those shoes to LeBron. Both are now part of the Nike family, and LeBron riffing on the shrine he built around a pair of old, smelly, game-worn Adidas sneakers wouldn’t be the best public relations move for either party.

Still, contrary to popular belief, Kobe the 20-something basketball player didn’t bite. He was, it seems, actually pretty chill.

LeBron has the (memory of) old, smelly, game-worn Adidas sneakers to prove it.