© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
How Kobe Bryant helped Giannis Antetokounmpo become the hoops legend that he is now
Coming into the NBA from Greece, Giannis Antetokounmpo already had the physique and the innate talent to become a dominant player. But it was when he met and learned from the late Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant that he truly understood what it meant to be a legend in the sport.
Bryant, who tragically passed away in a helicopter crash in 2020, was not only a five-time NBA champion and one of the greatest players of all time but also a mentor and role model to many young players in the league.
The impact of Bryant on Giannis became even more profound when the legendary "Black Mamba" took the time to converse with him. This happened after a game where the Milwaukee Bucks emerged victorious with a score of 108-101 against the Lakers. During this game, the "Greek Freak" achieved his first career triple-double, producing an impressive stat line of 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Shift to point guard
That fateful game happened on February 23, 2016, the last time Kobe would play in Milwaukee before retiring at the end of the season. Giannis was then 21 years old and playing in his third season in the NBA. Before the game, Bucks head coach Jason Kidd informed the youngster that he would take on more ballhandling and playmaking duties.
“Jason Kidd walked up to Giannis in the locker room and said you’re going to start at point guard tonight. You’re going to handle the ball. ‘Ok coach,’ Giannis said. ‘I got you,’” Mirin Bader wrote in the book, “Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP.”
“That game, Giannis was magnificent. He directed the offense, dunked, posted up, and looked confident. He has 27 pts, 12 Rebs, 10 assists, 4 blocks, and 3 steals in the Bucks seven-point win. Afterward, Kobe told reporters that Giannis had the potential to be great, that he had the physical tools and intelligence, but it was just a matter of him believing in himself and going after it.”
Private conversation
As memorable as the triple-double was for Giannis, the best was yet to come that night. After the game, Kidd brought Giannis to Kobe, and the two had a private conversation that lasted an hour.
“Kobe gave him advice for about an hour. He told him to work on his jump shot, get in the gym every day, and shoot a thousand jumpers a day. Kobe also told him about the mentality it took to be great. ‘Be serious until the last day you play basketball,’ Kobe told him, also noting the importance of recovery, of taking care of one's body, of making sacrifices,” Bader wrote.
“‘You have to have that killer mindset, that mindset that you will not be beat. That you will outwork everybody.’ Giannis literally changed after that meeting. ‘It was like a light bulb that went off about what it takes to be great.’ says Nixon Dorvilien, the Bucks assistant trainer.”
