Reggie Miller recalls filming The Real World with Kobe Bryant: "You're going to refer to me one day as The Caramel Cat"

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After the Indiana Pacers came up short against the Chicago Bulls in a thrilling seven-game 1998 Eastern Conference Finals, Reggie Miler's business manager got him a gig with a young Los Angeles Lakers superstar, Kobe Bryant, to play ball against the cast of MTV's reality show Real World.

Upon meeting the then-19-year-old Bryant, Reggie said they only talked about Michael Jordan.

"I kept calling Mike the 'Black Cat' cuz he and I never had a great relationship," said Miller. "I kept saying 'That MF,' and he's just looking at me, taking notes. He's like, 'Reg, you're going to refer to me one day as The Caramel Cat.' I'm like, look at this dude. He's like, 'Come on man, let's play some one-on-one…' Thank God, the cast started to come in."

Bryant used Miller's moves against him

Before their game, Kobe asked Reggie how he did his step-back move going to the left. The Pacers legend then showed Bryant a couple of moves MJ did on the post and how he tried to stop them. After that, the two went on to play the Real World cast.

Fast forward a couple of years later, and Reggie and the Pacers advanced to the 2000 NBA Finals against Kobe and the Lakers. In that series, L.A. won the first two games on their home floor. But Miller's Indiana refused to go away, winning Game 3.

In Game 4, Reggie thought they had the Lakers on the ropes, with Shaq fouled out, and the game would go to overtime. But he was wrong.

"The great Shaquille O'Neal fouls out going into overtime…We got this!" Reggie added. "We had no answer for Shaq. Thank God, we had no answer, and that Caramel Cat not only used the moves that I showed him on the step back and how to guard MJ in the post and this is what I did against him. He used all those moves versus Jack and I in that overtime to win that game and go up 3-1. I'm like, 'This dude was freaking studying. He was studying at 19.'"

Kobe's coming out party

The Pacers extended the series by winning Game 5, but behind another monster performance from Shaq, the Lakers clinched the 2000 NBA championship in Game 6. Rightfully, O'Neal won Finals MVP honors, but the series will always be remembered for Game 4, which many say was Kobe's coming-out party.

"The Game 4, when Shaq fouled out. We were thinking, 'Yes!' because it was 2-1, and we had no answer for Shaq. He fouled out, we got this, and that damn kid, he turned into Kobe. There was nothing I could do. So yes, I've felt that,"Miller said during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show.

The following season, Kobe made the All-NBA third team. That would be the first of 15 All-NBA team selections. He went on to win four more NBA titles, including back-to-back in 2009 and 2010 without Shaq.

The Lakers legend will forever be remembered as The Black Mamba. However, Reggie will never forget when he was still The Caramel Cat.