“Bill Russell gave me an insight I had never heard before”: When Kobe Bryant reminisced on how his relationship with the Celtics legend began

Kobe Bryant talked about what gravitated him towards Bill Russell in his ‘Mamba Mentality’ book and how they started their relationship. 

Kobe Bryant entered the NBA ready to take over and he most certainly did in due time. He received help from guys on the Lakers roster like Byron Scott and Eddie Jones on everything from in-game tactics to balancing a work-home life with the right amount of scheduling and sticking to it. 

However, when it came to really progressing forward in the NBA, whether it be as an all-time scorer or as an NBA champion, Kobe Bryant brought on help from the big-guns. 

The obvious is Michael Jordan who Kobe reached out to the second he became a household name in his sophomore season. He asked him tips on his fadeaway jumper, tips that Jordan hilariously semi-regretted giving him and also tried to emulate the ferocity with which MJ approached the game.

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He would then reach out to Hakeem Olajuwon, like LeBron James after him, to work on his footwork, something he perfected as he got older. 

One person who you wouldn’t expect a 2000s superstar to reach out to however, is a man from a time almost half a century before him. This is exactly what Kobe did. 

Kobe Bryant reached out to Bill Russell after reading a brilliant quote from him. 

Bill Russell is lauded as being the greatest winner in all of North American sporting history while also being perhaps the greatest defender in NBA history. He won 11 titles in 13 years and retired knowing he did it the right way. 

Kobe Bryant certainly believed that last part as he was mesmerized by the way the Boston Celtics legend had approached the game. It wasn’t a secret that Russell wasn’t a great scorer and was pale in comparison to his counterpart, Wilt Chamberlain.

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Here is an excerpt from Kobe’s book, ‘The Mamba Mentality: How I Play’ where he talks about Bill and how reading a single quote from the former Celtics HC led to him immediately starting a relationship with him. 

“I knew there was a reason Bill Russell had more rings than fingers. Years ago, I picked up an autobiography of his and devoured it. There was a lot of valuable lessons in there. There’s one anecdote Bill shared that stuck with me. He recounts how people always said he wasn’t a good ball handler, just didn’t know how to handle and shoot the ball.” 

“He said sure, he could do all those things but why would he lead the fastbreak when Bob Cousy was playing with him. Why would he shoot jumpers when Sam Jones was on his wing? The message was that if you want to win championships, you have to let people focus on what they do best while you focus on what you do best.” 

“I thought that teaching was simple, yet profound. It was an insight I had never heard from anyone before. Pretty much as soon as I read that, I reached out to Bill and started a relationship and mentorship that opened my world.”