Kyrie Irving is among the many NBA stars who idolized Kobe Bryant growing up. However, unlike many others, Irving was fortunate enough to share a strong bond with the Los Angeles Lakers legend. Kyrie picked Kobe’s mind several times and tried grasping as much knowledge as possible from the Mamba. You can see the result of that on the court.
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Apart from sharing a mentor-mentee relationship, the two players were even great friends off the hardwood. But more than anything, Irving had a deep admiration for Kobe’s basketball craft.
Now, years after the Black Mamba’s tragic passing, the Dallas Mavericks star is still in awe of the legend. Taking to his Instagram stories, Kyrie recently shared a glimpse of Kobe’s ‘GOATED’ footwork.
Sharing a minute-long reel on his story, Kyrie captioned the compilation of Bryant’s highlights as, “Kobe Bryant footwork ”.
Kyrie calls Kobe’s footwork goated pic.twitter.com/aiadI9XArl
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) August 3, 2023
The reel had some of the best displays of Kobe’s insane footwork. The Mamba could be seen dancing on the court to evade defenders, doing spin moves, pump fakes, effortless drop steps before shooting his smooth jumper.
It’s no surprise that Kyrie, who has the best handles in the NBA, was so impressed by the Mamba’s wizardry.
Kobe Bryant was one of the best offensive maestros ever. He used a wide array of moves to destroy his opponents. Widely known for his midrange game, the 18-time All-Star had impeccable footwork that allowed him to create space for the shot.
A true student of the game, he learned to move his feet from none other than Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon. Maybe that’s how he learned to shake off defenders so easily.
There are a lot of moves that Kyrie has taken from Kobe. That’s partly why he’s so successful.
The Mavericks star made a lot of fans nostalgic by sharing Kobe’s reel. It is through highlight reels like these that NBA fans want to remember Kobe forever.
