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The late Kobe Bryant mentored some of the best players in the NBA before his death in 2020, including the likes of Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is emerging as one of the best players in the league, but he didn't get the opportunity to work with Bryant. As he continues his rise to the top of the league, he wishes he had the chance to be mentored by the Los Angeles Lakers legend.
"I definitely wish he could've been a mentor to me," Edwards said, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. "He was that to a lot of people who are playing today. But unfortunately, things happen."
Edwards added of Bryant: "He was one of a kind, there was nobody else like him. A lot of guys wanna play like him, but there will never be another Kob. But I'm happy to be in the same position as him, because to me he's the second-greatest shooting guard of all time, behind Mike. It's great to be in that quote-unquote tree."
Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others died in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, in January 2020. Edwards was selected by the Timberwolves 10 months later with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft.
Bryant spent his entire 20-year career with the Lakers, winning five NBA championships and earning two scoring titles, an MVP award, two Finals MVP awards, 18 All-Star selections and four All-Star Game MVP awards, among other accolades.
The Pennsylvania native averaged 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 1,346 games while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor and 32.9 percent from deep.
The players Bryant has mentored, including Tatum and Antetokounmpo, have both been to the NBA Finals, with the latter leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a title in 2021, and have been in the MVP conversation pretty consistently over the last several years.
Antetokounmpo is a two-time MVP and between him and Tatum, there are 11 All-Star selections and 10 All-NBA selections.
Edwards, in just his fourth NBA season, appears to only be getting started. He was named an All-Star for the first time during the 2022-23 campaign and is now in the midst of a career year, averaging 25.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 42 games while shooting 45.8 percent from the floor and 37.4 percent from deep.
And while Edwards wasn't able to learn from Bryant directly, he is already drawing comparisons to another NBA great—Michael Jordan. That's some pretty high praise for a 22-year-old, who is now under a lot of pressure to live up to the hype.
Edwards and the Timberwolves are already exceeding expectations this year. They sit atop the Western Conference with a 32-13 record. If they can get to the NBA Finals this year, the sky's the limit for the rising star.
