After Kobe Bryant retired from the NBA, he became more involved in his daughters' lives. He spent a lot of time mentoring his second-eldest daughter, Gigi, who was following in his footsteps as a basketball player.
Since the younger Bryant wanted a superb basketball career, Kobe fully supported her by teaching her how to play and watching the biggest women's basketball stars. One player the Bryant family connected to was Sabrina Ionescu , the star of the University of Oregon. Sabrina loved spending time with the Bryant family, as they became good friends.
"He watched the whole game and came to talk to our team after in the locker room. That's when he exchanged numbers, talked, and ever since then, it was workouts," Sabrina said on All The Smoke. "I helped coach Gigi's team, and ever since then, we just clicked and became really good friends."
Sabrina learned from the Kobe workouts
Since Kobe was well known for his basketball workouts, Sabrina got the complete experience when she worked with the Black Mamba. This is a milestone that most players can only dream about, and when they eventually get the opportunity, only a few can withstand the infamous workouts.
Even an All-Star player like Julius Randle had to adjust to 5 am workouts and then having a full team practice afterward. Ionescu showed resilience during the workouts and was like a sponge when she wanted to learn from Kobe. Sabrina aimed to pass it on to the next generation with Gigi's team before the tragic accident in early 2020.
Since then, Sabrina has always been a fantastic representative of Kobe's tutelage. She might have only been a student for a short time, but she kept learning and is now one of the best players in the WNBA. She even competed against Steph Curry in a three-point shootout .
"It was all fundamentals, you have the ball and alright pivot off your toe for ten minutes… All these pivots, I was like are we gonna to shoot? It was the little things," Sabrina continued. "It was cool because Gigi's teammates were all doing it and doing it well."
Sabrina was heartbroken about Kobe and Gigi's passing
Ionescu was one of the few people called upon to give a speech at the celebration of Kobe and Gianna's lives in early 2020. It was a moving speech where she talked about how much of an impact the Bryants had on her. She has continued to be a shining example of Kobe's influence on the world because Sabrina continues to shine for the New York Liberty in the WNBA.
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Apart from her speech at the event, she also had a heartfelt post on Instagram, detailing what Kobe meant to her and her budding basketball career. She was still with Oregon, but she played a massive role in the women's game growth, which has improved with the rise of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese in recent years.
Related: Kenny Smith thinks Sabrina Ionescu was at a disadvantage against Stephen Curry in the 3-point contest
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