James Harden on how Kobe Bryant convinced him to…

James Harden recently shared how Kobe Bryant’s advice to invest in BodyArmor made him a huge profit.

Around the 4:40 mark of the Earn your free time interview, seen above, Bryant was asked about the advice he received from older players as he came up in the NBA and whether he has given similar advice now that he has been in the league for 15 years.

“I talk to my teammates and someone like Terance Mann, who has invested in Recover 180,” he said. “But if they ask me, or if I see opportunities for someone, I will definitely say something.”

He then explained that Kobe Bryant, an early investor in BodyArmor, approached him about bringing him into the sports drink brand.

“Kobe basically said, ‘We’re going to put in a $5 million stock and then any business opportunities – it could be a little under $200,000, it could be $500,000, depending on what investment it is – we’re going to put together a pot and we’re just going to put our invest money,” he said.

He said BodyArmor was the “beginning” of their joint business plans.

“We’ve seen how it goes, we built the whole company and it took eight to 10 years,” he continued. “Look what it’s done. … I just try to give the guys as many opportunities in the game as they want, but I’m not going to force it on them because these days the young guys are a little crazy.”

Later in the interview, he said he put “$500,000 into BodyArmor,” which gave him “a good chunk of money back” when the brand was sold to Coca-Cola in 2021.

“Kobe, if I’m not mistaken, put eight million dollars in,” he said in the chat at the 28:50 mark.

In 2021, Coca-Cola acquired full ownership of BodyArmor. Kobe Bryant invested millions in the company in 2014 and owned more than 10% of the shares. The acquisition valued BodyArmor at $8 billion, with Bryant’s estate receiving an estimated $400 million from the sale, an amount greater than the estimated income the basketball legend earned during his NBA career ($323 million) .

When the sale was announced, Harden paid tribute to Bryant, who tragically died in a helicopter crash last year. “We did it brother!” he wrote alongside a photo of them together. “Made the best sports drinks. I wish you were here to celebrate. We’re still counting hard for you. Lots of love.”