Kobe Bryant was not just one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. For many current and former players in the NBA, Kobe served as a role model and even a mentor. Bryant took several of today’s superstars under his wing during and after his playing days. LA Clippers star Paul George recently shared how Kobe Bryant helped him get ready for the playoffs in 2019 as he was coming off a major injury.
“I got a crazy Kobe story,” said George on ‘Podcast P’ while talking to DeMar DeRozan. When we was playing Portland in the playoffs, I had got shot up to play because both my shoulders was f*cked up. So I wasn’t playing for like a week or two before the playoffs started… I’m nervous going into the series, cause I ain’t played basketball in two weeks and now we’re about to start the playoffs. We played a couple of games, so I sent him some of the edits from the Portland game. He hit me back like, ‘Hold on, I’m in the movies with my daughter. I’m going to watch these clips and I’m going to get back to you’. I’m like ‘no way this n**** gets back to me’. Sure enough bro, three hours later, he gets back to me with literally a paragraph detailed out on what I need to do… I still got it saved.”
(George talks till the 0:46 mark)
"I sent [Kobe Bryant] some of the edits from the [Blazers] game… He gets back to me and like literally a paragraph detailed out on what I need to do… Sure enough the game was just easy."
Paul George on his mentorship with Kobe.
(via @PodcastPShow)pic.twitter.com/dimC52UlvV
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 19, 2023
During the episode, George talked about the first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers, which he referenced in the aforementioned clip. Of course, that series is infamous because of Damian Lillard’s buzzer-beater over George himself.
Kobe Bryant Was A Mentor For Many Players
George and Kobe Bryant played together in the NBA but rarely came across one another because they played in different conferences. But it is clear from the way George talked about Bryant that he had a lot of respect for the 5-time NBA champion. George, who now plays in LA just like Kobe, lamented that he wished he had developed his relationship with Kobe sooner so he wouldn’t have missed out.
Bryant has been lauded as one of the most intelligent and focused players in NBA history. So his sending George a detailed list of what he needs to do is far from surprising. But it does show how much the basketball world has benefitted from his knowledge and love of the game.
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