"He comes across as an arrogant guy, but he's the coolest guy you'll ever meet" - Former Jazz ballboy recalls striking up a close friendship with Kobe Bryant

“He comes across as an arrogant guy, but he’s the coolest guy you’ll ever meet” – Former Jazz ballboy recalls striking up a close friendship with Kobe Bryant originally appeared on Basketball Network.

Kobe Bryant‘s aloofness early on in his career was well-documented, but according to a former Utah Jazz ballboy, that was not exclusively the case. The said ballboy, Preston Truman, exposed the Los Angeles Lakers icon’s softer side as they developed a unique friendship since the latter’s rookie year in 1996 until 2000.

“That Lakers team was so dysfunctional,” Truman said, per a 2013 Salt Lake Tribune article by Matthew Piper. “They didn’t want to give him (Kobe) the time of day. It was kind of like he found refuge in talking to me.”

According to Truman, Bryant, for some reason, couldn’t see eye to eye with his teammates. It helped that both of them are around the same age, so they talked about things common to teenagers: girlfriends, basketball and everything in between.

Truman quit as a ballboy in 2000, but his friendship with the Black Mamba remained. Kobe even told him that if he were ever in town and wanted to catch a game, he’d be taken care of. He took Bryant on with that promise approximately nine times, including at least one Staples Center game where Truman’s daughters and family met the basketball superstar.

“He comes across as an arrogant guy, but he’s the coolest guy you’ll ever meet,” added Truman.

Locker room stories

Since Truman managed to get on Bryant’s good side (and vice versa), a bit of favoritism went on whenever the Lakers visited the Jazz. He learned to accommodate Kobe’s routines, even small things, like laying a towel down so Bryant’s feet never touched the locker room carpet.

Naturally, Preston also remembered stuff inside the Lakers’ locker room that wouldn’t have been made public otherwise. He recalled Shaquille O’Neal being the team’s designated clown-slash-bully, busting out dance moves one minute, then daring teammates to join in or face his mock wrath.

But perhaps the most surprising thing for Truman was the eating (and drinking) habits of the world’s best hoopers. He said Karl Malone’s routine was watching “SportsCenter” at 4 P.M., guzzling down Coke, popcorn and barbeque-flavored chips. John Stockton’s guilty pleasure was snickerdoodle cookies, while, unsurprisingly, Charles Barkley (and many others) drank a lot of beer.

Players and trainers were generous with tips, but for Truman, the real reward was standing just feet from the sport he idolized and the nearly unlimited access it came with.

“When you get closer to game time,” Truman said,” the access you get is unbelievable. With that uniform on, you can walk anywhere you want in the Delta Center and no one even questions you.”

More approachable than he let on

For all the stories about Bryant’s ego or intensity, Truman’s experience paints a different picture. The Kobe he knew wasn’t standoffish or too big for small talk — he was thoughtful, loyal and surprisingly down-to-earth, especially for someone already on the path to NBA superstardom.

Maybe Bryant didn’t open up to just anyone. But when he did, like with Truman, it showed a guy who paid attention to the details and treated people with genuine warmth, even if the public rarely saw that side.

That’s what made their friendship memorable. Turns out, the player so many found unapproachable was the one who let a kid behind the scenes feel most welcome.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 16, 2025, where it first appeared.

“He comes across as an arrogant guy, but he’s the coolest guy you’ll ever meet” – Former Jazz ballboy recalls striking up a close friendship with Kobe Bryant

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