The Los Angeles Lakers will reportedly work out Buddy Hield next week, but the top-ten pick has stayed busy with one of their former players until then. During an interview on NBA.com, Hield told Rick Fox he has been working out with Kobe Bryant during the lead-up to the draft, and he shared a few of the tips Bryant has offered him.
"Just mentally, being focused," Hield told Fox, as transcribed by Gary Kester of Lakers Outsiders. "Lock in the little things, you know. Setting your man up, jabbing, how you can create space, you know. How to use the fadeaway jump shot; he teaches me how he squares his body when he uses the fadeaway jump shot, so little things like that help me."
All of those tips were practically trademarked by Bryant during his 20-year NBA career. His singular focus on basketball and work ethic were legendary among his peers, and when hearing Hield describe jab steps and fadeaways it's almost impossible to not have Bryant's patented moves spring immediately to mind.
Hield (who shares an agent with Kobe) is unlikely to be drafted by the Lakers when the draft rolls around on June 23rd, but it's still pretty cool to see Bryant offering his sage, "old man Kobe" wisdom to the league's next generation. Lakers fans can only hope he'll do the same for the team's young roster even in retirement.
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