Ice Cube’s Son Issues Fiery Warning to Gilbert Arenas Over Kobe Bryant Slander 

Ice Cube's son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., is one of the most loyal Kobe Bryant and LA Lakers fans. Being from LA, Jackson has been supporting the Purple & Gold his entire life. That's why he defends any Lakers icon who gets disrespected by the public.

On X (formerly Twitter), he issued a warning to former NBA star Gilbert Arenas. According to Jackson, he doesn't want to see any disrespect from Arenas when it comes to the Lakers legend. The co-host of the former athlete, Brandon Jennings, backed up the son of the rap icon on X.

"O'Shea Jackson Jr. told me tonight no more Kobe Bryant slander on the couch. He’s right!!!! 8/24 forever," Jennings posted.

Jackson doubled down and said that he'd be on the show to defend the five-time champion if it happens.

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"I can’t stand it," he posted. "Tell Gil if I see it I’m kicking that f**kin door down and gettin on the mic."

In the past, Arenas have had hot takes about the two-time Finals MVP. The most recent was that Bryant was the face of the NBA for only three years. According to the three-time All-Star, the league started pushing for the Lakers' star from 2008 to 2010.

“When we say face of the NBA, that means the NBA is pushing him. It was 2008. That’s when it was. After the Olympics, and he won a gold for America, they started pushing the Kobe brand again,” Arenas said (01:08). “So that 2008-2010 period is when Kobe officially the NBA’s guy.”

Arenas' thoughts on Kobe Bryant being the face of the NBA were milder than what Paul Pierce said. According to the former Boston Celtics star, the 18-time All-Star was never the face of the league.

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O'Shea Jackson Jr.'s father ranks Kobe Bryant as the fifth greatest player of all-time

When it comes to ranking Kobe Bryant in an all-time list, Ice Cube believes that he belongs in the fifth spot. The rap legend ranked some of the NBA's greatest players and explained why he put Bryant in that spot during his appearance at the Lakers Nation YouTube channel in August 2025.

“Bill Russell is, ya know, he’s a winner,” he said. “Wilt Chamberlain was an unstoppable force. You got Michael Jordan. The greatest competitor ever. Then you have Magic Johnson, who, to me, changed the game in a 1000 different ways.” “I would put him fifth. Because Kobe, what people don’t realize, Kobe played in both eras. He was able to succeed when it was a man-to-man world that Jordan played in. Jordan didn’t face a zone in the pros. So Kobe won championships when it was a man-to-man thing, and he won it in a zone thing,” he added.

As someone who's from California, Cube has high respect for what Kobe Bryant did in his career.

Edited by Reign Amurao