"I was playing to satisfy the Bill Russells, the Kareem Abdul Jabbars and you know, the Bob Laniers" - Isiah Thomas recalls meeting Kobe Bryant and sharing basketball knowledge with him

The late Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s careers were up for discussion, in the latest episode of the Ringer and Spotify’s “Icons Club” – hosted by Jackie MacMullan. Both players had a sense of achieving greatness and did so, winning three back-to-back championships together. The duo dominated the league for quite some time before their fall-out led to them parting ways.

On the podcast, MacMullan spoke about Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault case and how that had an effect on the duo’s relationship. She also highlighted how Kobe Bryant reached out to the Detroit Pistons legend - Isiah Thomas – in an attempt to seek advice on how to handle himself in the court of public opinion.

Kobe Bryant reached out to Thomas through his agent, Rob Pelinka. In an interview with MacMullan, Isiah Thomas recalled the said interaction with Kobe Bryant:

“I never forget Kobe and I and Rob sitting in the room and we're talking basketball. We're talking winning. But more importantly, we're talking Killer Instinct.”

“And how do you deal with the critics and people not liking you? And I'll never forget I said this to him. I say, you know you. You have to play to the right audience and the audience is not the media critics.”

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Isiah Thomas went on to emphasize how the focus should always lie on those who came before, the greats in the game. He remembered how he challenged himself back in the day:

“My audience at that time? I was playing to satisfy the Bill Russells, the Kareem Abdul Jabbars. And you know, the Dave Bings, you know, the Bob Laniers, those were the people that when I walked out on the floor. I said okay, these are the people that I'm trying to impress.”

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Kobe Bryant’s pursuit for greatness throughout his career

Kobe Bryant is well known for his commitment towards the game, always striving to end up among the greats. He constantly reached out to those he considered elite and picked their brains in order to improve his game and in turn his legacy.

Apart from Isiah Thomas mentioned above, Bryant has received guidance from Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and even Michael Jordan – throughout his career. His pursuit of greatness was evident in his lack of hesitation to reach out to even Jordan, someone whose legacy he was chasing.

Bryant finished his career with five championships, winning three championships alongside Shaquille O’Neal and two with him being the alpha male on the roster. In his 20 seasons with the LA Lakers, Bryant won the 2007-08 MVP award, two Finals MVP awards and four All-Star MVP awards.

Bryant’s contribution to the sport - and his pursuit of being the best - inspired a generation of basketball players, including those who are making their mark in the league today.