Aug. 23, 2023 would’ve been late Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant’s 45th birthday, and the basketball world has been left to wonder what kind of impact he would’ve continued to have on the sport.
Even after retiring as a player in 2016, Bryant mentored a number of NBA players, either personally or from a distance, and he became a strong advocate for women’s sports, especially the WNBA.
Today’s generation of NBA players readily cite Bryant as someone they look up to. One of them is Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson, who was lucky enough to play with Bryant in his first two seasons in the league.
Clarkson said that the Black Mamba is his GOAT (greatest of all-time) and said he learned plenty from the Lakers legend (h/t Lakers Daily).
Jordan Clarkson on Kobe and his influence on the game 🐍 ♾️#FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/4lsOkg0dkO
— FIBA (@FIBA) August 23, 2023
“It meant a lot being around him my earlier years, definitely my GOAT, a guy that I learned a lot from,” Clarkson said. “And he taught me so much. He means a lot to my career and the game of basketball, period.”
Since leaving the Lakers midway through the 2017-18 season, Clarkson, a second-round draft pick in 2014, has blossomed into a very good player. He was the Sixth Man of the Year for the 2020-21 campaign and averaged 20.8 points and 4.4 assists a game, both of which were career-highs, this past season.
