JJ Redick has fast become one of the most well-loved personalities in NBA media. The sharpshooter’s appearances on ESPN and his conversations on his podcast are both wildly popular, with his insight and stories thanks to him being an ex-player making for some interesting listening for fans of the NBA.
One of the things that often gets spoken about by many players is the impact of Kobe Bryant, and the memories he left today’s young stars as well as his colleagues with. Kobe’s will to get better in pursuit of winning is legendary, and the latest story about it comes from Redick, who happened to be teammates with Kobe on Team USA in the 2000s. He explained in a conversation with Gary Payton how Kobe worked with him after practice to learn more about Redick’s shooting motion.
“I was fortunate to be part of the USA basketball program my first three years in the NBA. This is right after college, I got named to the national team roster or whatever and I couldn’t participate my first year and I go to do it my second year. And after the first practice, Kobe asked me to shoot our spot shots. You know, our post-practice shooting with each other, and I thought he was doing me a favor. I really did. I was like ‘Oh, Kobe’s being nice’ and we start shooting.
“We get to like the third spot and I realize as every time I go up and I jump and I release, he’s studying my shot. Like he asked me to shoot with him so that he could try to pick up something about how I shot. Like that’s just the way he was. He was always just looking to get better. And by the way, it was a favor because that still was one of my favorite basketball memories that I have is post-practice shooting with Kobe Bryant.”
Kobe’s mentality has been an inspiration to many in the league, most notably Jayson Tatum, who has honored the legendary Laker throughout these playoffs. As more stories about Bryant’s time in the league continue to come out, the impact he left on his fellow players becomes more clear and it’s an additional insight into why the NBA community will always miss the Mamba.
