Phil Jackson’s triangle offense is one of the most iconic styles of play in NBA history. Like Michael Jordan before him, Kobe Bryant thrived as the focal point of Jackson’s offensive philosophy. He was such a big fan of the style of play that Bryant aspired to implement it for his daughter Gianna.
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Kobe was asked about the same on some of the shows he went on, in the 2017-18 season. On the Late Late Show with James Corden, Bryant said –
“We run the triangle offense. It’s awesome. I sit there with my kids, the girls will go out and I say ‘OK, you’re going against a zone. So I need you to cross-grain, wing entry, hit the two pass to the post, bypass first cutter, second cutter, hit the third cutter.’
“And they’ll go ‘OK.’ I’m like, ‘man they did it!’”
In fact, Kobe also shared an adorable video of a 11-year-old Gianna trying out that style of play. But before doing so, he sought the advice of his former teammate Tracy Mur
Former Lakers forward Tracy Murray played with Bryant in the 2002-03 season. The two were prevalent in Jackson’s triangle offense. Following the end of Murray’s playing career, he started a grassroots basketball program focusing on the girl’s basketball scene. Shortly after Kobe’s retirement, he sought the advice of his former teammate.
Murray revealed the conversation he had with Bryant on Byron Scott’s Fast Break Podcast. The former Laker told Scott and his co-host that Bryant wanted to know if it was feasible to run a triangle offense on an adolescent girls’ team.
“He called me out of the blue,” Murray recalled. “He said, ‘Tee, I know you guys got a girl team and all that. Do you think the triangle offense would work with the girls?'”
Murray and Scott burst into laughter following his recount of the story. The 6-foot-7 forward couldn’t believe Bryant would ask such a question to him of all people. However, he understood the place that it was coming from.
The conversation took place near the beginning of Kobe coaching Gianna at Mamba Sports Academy in early 2018. Coaching girls is significantly different than coaching NBA players, and Kobe didn’t want to fall into the trap of misleading his daughter and her teammates.
Bryant reached out to Murray because he respected him as a basketball mind. The gesture meant the world for the 12-year NBA veteran as he reciprocated that level of respect to Kobe.
Murray had observed Kobe Bryant since his rookie season
Bryant entered the league ahead of the 1996-97 season. At the time, Murray had just signed with the Washington Bullets following a career year with the Raptors. He went head-to-head against Bryant in his rookie season and knew there was something special about him.
“[Kobe] wanted to be the best, he wanted to be a champion, and winning was the drive behind everything,” Murray said.
Kobe was willing to do anything to be great. That process included flamboyant plays during his rookie season, which he didn’t need to do. However, all those moments played a part in meshing Bryant to the player he became.
Not only was Bryant successful in his pursuit of being great, he transcended what it meant to be an athlete. His legacy lives on following his untimely death and will never fade away.
