"Damn, Kobe really just told me that last night" — Isaiah Thomas on the "Black Mamba's" unmatched basketball genius
In his prime, Kobe Bryant was a known scholar of the game. The “Black Mamba” spent countless hours watching game films, satisfied his curiosity by asking questions, and worked his tail off in the gym.
But at the twilight of his career, Kobe turned into a generous sage who passed on the lessons he had learned. He didn’t choose who he’d mentor; as long as the player was hungry to get better, Bryant was all for it.
Watching film with the "Black Mamba"
Former Boston Celtics star guard Isaiah Thomas was one of those players five-time NBA Champion mentored. It was odd because Bean was a Los Angeles Lakers lifer. But from a micro perspective, that moment was special to IT as Kobe was one of the players he looked up to.
“That was special to me, because to be able to have Kobe Bryant talk to you and help you out is amazing, especially for me. That was my favorite player growing up,” Thomas said, per NBA.com.
Thomas’ moment with his idol took place in the middle of the 2017 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Washington Wizards. Like Bean, IT loved to watch game films over and over again. It was his way of preparing for what was ahead.
Look closer
But when Thomas finally sat down with Bryant, the point guard realized that he had been doing it wrong, or rather, he wasn’t watching closely enough. Through Bryant, he learned that there was more detail to parse and examine.
“I’m a guy that watches a lot of film … and I thought what I was watching were the right things,” Thomas said. “When we first sat down and watched film last playoffs, he was just going in so much detail of things that I never even looked at on film.”
The Lakers icon advised Thomas to watch the film on Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry. The 18-time All-Star was in awe at how Curry set screens that opened up scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates.
When it was time to play, IT noticed that defenses moved and developed the way the 2008 MVP said it would. It was an unbelievable experience for the 5’9” guard. He could not believe that his idol helped him win a series.
“It was crazy, because I never even thought about basketball like that,” Thomas added. “And then when I started to think like that, I would see it before it happened in the game and I would think, ‘Damn, Kobe really just told me that last night.’”
Indeed, "Vino" was a special individual who wanted to help everyone in their basketball journey. He forged his name as one of the greats because of his mentors. And so he felt it was only right to pass on his knowledge to the next generation.
