On the occasion of what would have been Kobe Bryant’s 47th birthday, wishes have been pouring in from fans and teammates worldwide. Such was the love that the NBA community had for Bryant that people are still finding new stories about him to keep his memory alive. Byron Scott, who both played with and coached Kobe on the Lakers, shared a heartwarming video of the two, recorded during Bryant’s rookie year.
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On his ‘Fast Break with Byron Scott’ podcast’s YouTube channel, Scott (or his management team) uploaded a video of the former Lakers shooting guard praising the rookie Bryant. Scott, who is 17 years Bryant’s senior, jokingly claimed that he felt like a father to Kobe and called him his “boy” with tremendous joy.
He also joked about how the rest of the Lakers locker room called him “showboat” because they saw every day what he was capable of. “This is my man, this is my man. This is showboat. We call him showboat, but y’all know him as Kobe Bryant,” Scott said in the video.
Kobe rode the bench a lot in his rookie year, and in that time and Scott was right there with him. He jokingly explained to the camera how the two, despite the massive age gap, grew close.
“This is my main man. I feel like a father, though, I mean, this is my boy!” he said, while Kobe laughed. “We play together, we sit on the bench by each other, we’re always talking.”
Of course, even as a rookie straight out of high school, Kobe was showing flashes of greatness, and Scott wasn’t about to let that go unnoticed. Despite backing up the likes of Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, and Cedric Ceballos, Bryant made sure to leave his mark.
Coach Del Harris did limit his minutes to about 15.5 a game but he managed to have his highest scoring game of 24 points in April ’97 and scored 15+ twelve times.
Scott made sure to tell the audience that Kobe was going to be a great player in the league someday, saying, “This kid right here, mark my words, and I said this earlier, he’s going to be unbelievable.”
Scott’s talent ID probably explains how we became a head coach in the NBA after his retirement, because he was spot on about Kobe’s potential. 5 championships, 2 Finals MVPs, and 33,643 points later, Kobe Bryant retired a bona fide NBA legend. We miss him every day since his passing, and seeing a young Kobe laugh and enjoy life just brings a tear to our eyes.
