Isaiah Thomas recently revealed that he’s been picking Kobe Bryant’s brain during this postseason run, and Kobe Bryant appreciates IT for having “the courage to ask” for help.
The Black Mamba says he’s always happy to give younger players advice—he speaks regularly with Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, and trained with Gordon Hayward last summer.
Bryant called Thomas to offer his condolences once he learned of his sister’s death.
Kobe also tells Jackie MacMullan about reaching out to IT after his sister’s death.
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— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) May 10, 2017
Per ESPN:
“I’m around for all the guys,” Bryant said. “Anybody can reach out. It’s an open book.”When the Celtics fell behind to the Bulls 2-0, Thomas took him up on the offer. He asked Kobe if he’d mind looking over some of the game film to help him figure out how he could shake free of Chicago’s defenders.
“I’d see something and I’d tell him, ‘Okay, go to 12:01,'” Bryant said. “It was more a conceptual lesson how to watch film. What should you look for? You have so many eyes on you defensively, what should you do here, when they trap? And what should you do there?
“I was happy to help him. He had the courage to ask. I did the same thing with Michael Jordan when I was a young player.”
