Many basketball players would dream of being able to learn from a legend like Kobe Bryant in their career. That was the case for D’Angelo Russell whose rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers was also the final in the illustrious career of Kobe.
Having a veteran who is a wealth of knowledge like Bryant can truly change the trajectory of someone’s career, but the young player also has to be willing to receive that knowledge and mentorship. And in the case of Russell, he self-admittedly was not.
Russell appeared on the Run Your Race podcast and the Lakers guard spoke about that year with Kobe, saying he was so young and naive that he wasn’t really hearing what he was trying to teach him, but as time passed it began to resonate with him:
“Great time. I mean, once again I was just naive to his whole legacy at that time. I’m 18 bro, so I’m young and dumb. Everything’s funny. Kobe Bryant, let me see if I can make him laugh, just young and dumb bro, so I got it the hard way. He wasn’t laughing, he was serious all the time. But he little bro’d me though, it wasn’t like ‘shoo fly’ it was like ‘lil bro, you shouldn’t do that, think about this.’ And I’m moving at 100 miles an hour and he’d be talking like he was Mr. Miyagi and I’d hear him, and then I’m moving again, and then you’ll get a text from him, and then I’m moving again. It was a blur for real for real, but little things come back and I’ll remember a lot of stuff he was saying.
“It was a good time bro, just to get that your first year. Kind of like being a rookie and getting drafted to a championship team and going on they run after they just won one like Denver, Boston. Those groom you for year four and year five in your career. You gonna know how to move, you gonna know how to approach because you remember dang, Jrue Holiday was doing this. Dang Jaylen Brown was doing this … But I was 18 so the knowledge [Kobe] was kicking was way over my head and I’m looking him in his face like [nodding] and not hearing nothing he’s saying until like years later.”
It’s not uncommon for young players to come in at that age and not really pick up what a veteran is trying to teach them. Even when it’s a legend like Bryant, as Russell said at 18 years old he was naive to the legacy of the Lakers legend.
Thankfully for Russell, those teachings were ultimately able to resonate with him later in his career and he has used that to turn into a great NBA player and integral part of the Lakers.
Trail Blazers not interested in D’Angelo Russell in potential Jerami Grant deal
Of course there remains the chance that D’Angelo Russell may not be with the Lakers for long as the team continues to explore the trade market. Russell’s contract makes him a prime candidate to be dealt away and the Lakers are reportedly exploring a trade for Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant.
However, the Blazers are reportedly not interested in taking back Russell in such a deal as they already have a number of young guards in Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe. As such the Lakers will have to find another way to get a deal done if they are intent on bringing Grant to Los Angeles.
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