Kobe Bryant Rejects 'Inside the NBA'

When it comes to the "Inside the NBA" job offer, Kobe Bryant just did something pretty uncommon for him -- he passed.

As we previously reported, the honchos at the show had reached out to Mamba, hoping he'd join Charles Barkley, Shaq and the rest of the gang either this season or next.

But Wednesday night outside of a Hublot watch event in Bev Hills, Kobe swatted the whole idea down -- saying straight up he DOES NOT want the gig.

There's still some good news for Shaq though -- Bryant says he's pumped about training Diesel's son, Shareef O'Neal, over the summer.

But check out his answer when we asked if he'll try to mold the young man into the next Shaq or the next Kobe ... funny stuff.