For the better part of KD’s stellar NBA career, Kobe was there to provide some mentorship.
In 2015, Kevin Durant had dinner with Kobe Bryant, and the pair talked about a wide array of things but mostly basketball. Two years later, KD opened up about it but still gave a vague answer. However, based on Durant’s description, we could easily picture that Bryant basically mentored him, and the things the Los Angeles Lakers legend told him were beyond his expectations.
“I had dinner with him his last year, in OKC, he came, and we had dinner together. The stuff we was talking about, just next-level as far as what he wanted to do when he was done playing, his vision as a businessman, how he wanted to leave his mark as a basketball ambassador, it was just so much we talked about and made me appreciate his intelligent mind,” Durant said of his dinner with Kobe in 2017 via USA Today.
KD learned to never stop learning
The dinner happened late in 2015, and Kobe knew KD was already on the right track and as someone who had been there and done that, Bryant told Durant not to get swayed by the accolades and success and continue to “learn and grow.”
“Always learn and grow,” Durant said of what learned from Bryant. “Always be a sponge and be curious, whether it’s about the game, off the court, on the court. Just be curious and always grow, always want to grow as a man, as a person, as a player. It’s pretty easy to see that when you’re meeting Kobe.”
Kobe had always guided KD
As it turned out, the 2015 dinner wasn’t the only time Bryant mentored Durant. A few years back, KD said the five-time NBA champion gave him one of the most important pieces of advice he has ever heard in his career.
“Really, just don’t be a cry𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦,” Durant once revealed. “I was at that age at 23 where I thought the world revolved around me. And I know we’ve talked a lot about Kobe. He was real humble in how he approached the game, how he approached his teammates, just life in general.”
Judging by how Durant’s career panned out, it’s safe to say Bryant made a huge impact on him. Even though he didn’t stay with only one team like Kobe, KD ensured to maintain the same mentality and stay laser-focused on winning.
Source: basketballnetwork.net
