Before entering his first game with the Lakers as head coach this season, Luke Walton did some homework.
Being a coach on the greatest regular season team in league history, then suddenly transitioning into a job with one of the most unpredictable rosters in recent memory, is far from easy. But Walton, a former NBA player, was up to the task.
One of the people Walton reached out to during the offseason was Kobe Bryant, who won five titles with the team and played over two decades donning purple and gold. Walton and Bryant share a special relationship, with the pair winning two NBA championships on the Lakers back in 2009 and 2010.
“He’s been great”, Walton said of Kobe on The Dan Patrick show. “He takes the phone call, we’ll talk for however long we need to (to get information out of him). So he’s been great when I’ve needed him.”
Luke Walton’s decision to seek advice from Kobe Bryant is a wise move. Bryant is widely considered to be the greatest player in Lakers franchise history, along with being one of the smartest players the league has ever seen.
Of course, the fact that Kobe was sharing the same court and locker room with some of these young guys just seven months ago certainly helps the situation, too.
Walton mentioned in the video that he had questions for Kobe about a ‘young Brandon Ingram’. One has to wonder what else was discussed between the former teammates on the Lakers’ current status.
