Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was known for his killer mentality and individual dominance over the course of his 20-year career. But after his retirement, he became known for his passion of teaching the game to the next generation of players. And one player he had a particularly close relationship with was — at the time — Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas.
Thomas — who found himself playing for the Lakers later in his career — had the prime of his career over a two-year stretch in Boston. He was an All-Star in 2015-16, Bryant’s final season, and 2016-17 and made the All-NBA Second Team in the latter year. He helped lead the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals that season, when they ultimately fell to LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.
But throughout the entirety of the season, Thomas received help from Bryant. Not just on his own game and becoming an undersized scorer that averaged 28.9 points per game, but also helped him to become a better teammate that got the most out of his guys.
Thomas spoke about the kind of mentorship Bryant provided during his All-NBA campaign and what it did for the team and his career, via Gil’s Arena:
“Kobe, the one thing he gave me. To get the guys that aren’t as good as you to follow you, you have to teach them the way. Like I didn’t really understand that at first. So obviously, he talked to me a lot about being a killer and being great, but what resonated with me the most was getting your guys — you say my team wasn’t really that good — getting those guys to figure out where you are mentally. So however the world thought they were, I was able tog et them to believe they were just like me. Kobe would watch film with me and I would ask him how do I get them to get to the mindset that I have. And he said that I have to sit down and watch film with them, and that their mind has to be where my mind is when I watch film. And we watched film in that playoffs that year.
“I used to watch film to see where I could score, but seeing sh-t before it happened, setting back screens. I remember he sent me clips of Steph Curry, John Stockton, Larry Bird and one other guy about back picks. And when I started setting back picks it started opening things up for me. And I didn’t even know it, guys were denying me and I was spending so much energy trying to get open. We were down 2-0 against the Bulls, they were the No. 8 seed and we were the No. 1 seed. And we watched every single possession from Game to Game 2, it took five hours. I had my video guys send it to him, and that was right around when he started doing that Detail show — I feel like I’m part of the reason he started that — and he would send back clips of how I did certain things and it opened up the whole game for me.”
Bryant has had an impact on many players throughout his career and in the years since, but it seems Thomas was one of the players he impacted the most. The guard elevated his game from good to elite with Bryant’s help and became a player capable of elevating an entire team in the process.
Bryant’s mark on the game of basketball is immeasurable, but it begins with stories like this, where a team like the 2016-17 Celtics exceeded expectations on the back of his advice.
Pau Gasol: Bryant played pivotal role in Hall of Fame induction
Bryant recently received more credit for his work to elevate those around him when his teammate Pau Gasol was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Gasol said that Bryant played a pivotal role in his induction, and while he remains sad that Bryant and his daughter Gianna could not be in attendance at the ceremony, he is grateful for the relationship he’s maintained with Vanessa Bryant and her three daughters.
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