Child Childs reflects on his fight with Kobe Bryant in 2000

Back in the 1999-2000 season, the Los Angeles Lakers had a 21-year-old guard named Kobe Bryant who was emerging into a legitimate superstar. He was still tapping into his potential that year, but he averaged 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game while being named to the All-Star team for the second time.

He came up big in a few of the Lakers' biggest games and moments during the Western Conference finals and NBA Finals as they powered their way to their first world championship in a dozen years. But along the way that season, he dipped his toes into the pool of indiscretion.

During a late-season matchup versus the New York Knicks at what was then known as Staples Center, Bryant got into a fight with Chris Childs. The two started talking trash, and right after Bryant threw an elbow at Childs, the Knicks guard reacted by throwing two punches.

At the time, one motive behind Childs punching Bryant may have been presumed to be disrespect. Back then, plenty around the league were leery of Bryant, who grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and in Italy and seemed to lack the street cred that many other players self-assuredly carry.

But in a recent interview with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson, Childs professed "nothing but respect" for the late Lakers legend.

“We never sat down and talked about it; we were competitors,” Childs said recently. “We weren’t friends. We didn’t go to dinner, but we had mutual respect for each other as far as how we played the game and how we prepared, and I have nothing but respect for that man for what he’s done on the court and off the court.”

Childs ended up playing nine seasons in the NBA, with four and a half of them coming with the Knicks. A native of Bakersfield, Calif., he lacked skills but was the type of prototypical 1990s scrapper whom no one wanted to double-cross. He averaged 6.9 points and 4.9 assists in 25.2 minutes a game for his career.

He went undrafted in 1989 and had to pay his dues in the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association for several years. Along the way, he also had to overcome an alcohol problem before he finally made his way into the roster of the then-New Jersey Nets for the 1994-95 season.

After his NBA career ended in 2003, he watched as Bryant's legend grew, both on and off the court.

“If I can take a fraction of that and give back to the community; give back to girls basketball and give back to what I do which is mentoring young men and trying to help them become exceptional men,” Childs said, “then I’ve done his legacy proud and hopefully others can follow suit.”

If Childs lacked respect for Bryant in 2000, the fact that his tune has drastically changed speaks to Bryant's success, resume and legacy.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Child Childs reflects on his fight with Kobe Bryant in 2000