A while ago, Isaiah Thomas sat down with Rashad McCants and Gilbert Arenas on the latter’s show Gil’s Arena. During the podcast episode, they talked about many topics, including the various people who influenced Thomas’ career in the NBA. One of these people, quite unsurprisingly, happened to be the Black Mamba, the late great Kobe Bryant.
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Thomas spoke about how Kobe taught him a number of things when he entered the league. This ranged from being a killer on the court to leading your teammates and getting the best out of them. But the most important thing that the five-time NBA Champ taught the 5 ft 9″ guard was the importance of watching film.
The 34-year-old recalled how Bryant used to watch film with him all the time. In fact, the Lakers legend even encouraged IT to sit down with his teammates and watch it, because that would help them all reach the same mindset and approach the game through a consensus of opinions.
“To get the guys that aren’t as good as you to follow you, you have to teach them the way. I didn’t understand that at first…Kobe would watch film with me. I would ask questions like, ‘How do I get them to have the mindset that I have?’. He said, ‘You gotta sit down and watch film with em,'” revealed Thomas.
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Sound advice from one of the greatest players of all time. Advice that Thomas took to heart and made use of during a playoff series against the Chicago Bulls. Making a brilliant comeback, the Celtics went on to win the series after being down 2-0. All thanks to the mentality Thomas and the rest of the team had developed.
Isaiah Thomas idolized Kobe Bryant as a youngster and received his “Welcome to the NBA” moment from him
Growing up, Isaiah Thomas’ favorite player was Kobe Bryant. He idolized the Black Mamba and dreamed of one day sharing the court with him. Luckily for him, Thomas’ dreams came true in 2011 when he was drafted by the Sacramento Kings. But the irony is, he got his “Welcome to the NBA” moment while sharing that same court.
In his rookie year, Thomas didn’t get much game time. But during one game against the Lakers, Paul Westphal put IT in the game and made him guard Kobe. He informed the then-22-year-old that no one could back him down. However, that was the furthest thing from the truth, as the Black Mamba proceeded to back him down every chance he got before scoring the basket.
Standing at 5’9″, Thomas clearly had a disadvantage when facing off against a 6’6″ Bryant. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the moment. After all, he was living his dream, playing basketball with his idol. IT was a huge Kobe fan, and in his own words, the Mamba was his Michael Jordan. A testament to just how influential a player Kobe was.
