Lakers draft news: Skal Labissiere praises Kobe Bryant after his pre-draft workout

As part of their ongoing series of pre-draft workouts preparing them to select players on June 23rd, the Los Angeles Lakers brought in big man Skal Labissiere from Kentucky on Friday morning.

The lanky Haitian big man would seem an unlikely choice for Los Angeles with the second overall pick. Labissiere was once considered one of the top prospects in the draft going into the season, but a disappointing year at Kentucky in which he averaged 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds while looking overmatched against a higher level of competition led him to drop significantly lower in the eyes of most draft expert (he is Draft Express' ninth-ranked prospect, for example).

Like the Lakers previous workout participant of the morning, Labissiere didn't let that unlikelihood stop him from taking the chance to appreciate the chance to workout in the same gym and practice gear as one of the greatest players of all time.

Labissiere on his favorite player, Kobe Bryant: "I think he's one of the most skilled players ever, if not the most skilled player ever."

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) June 10, 2016

He's not wrong, and while he won't be the Lakers' replacement for Bryant, it has been cool to see the league's next crop of young talent appreciating the Lakers' great as their generations' Michael Jordan.

Labissiere also had plenty more to say, including how "blessed" he felt to work out for the Lakers, and Joey Ramirez of Lakers.com transcribed all of his comments here, and you can find video here.

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