Kobe Bryant leads quite an interesting life in retirement, winning an Oscar and generally inspiring those around him, at least when prompted to do so. In recent weeks, Bryant has provided tutelage to the Alabama football team in the form of motivational speaking and, more directly, a private workout with Celtics forward Jayson Tatum as well as others like Mavs rookie Luka Doncic.
Bryant was recently captured taking his advisory talents to the WNBA realm, as he was seen working with Los Angeles Sparks star Candace Parker on her post game and, particularly, her footwork.
Candace Parker learning the footwork from Kobe. Yo it's gonna be crazy to watch her next season. pic.twitter.com/cD8spADOVr
— Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) September 11, 2018
Parker is been a mainstay as one of the best players in the WNBA for a full decade and the thought of her expanding her work even more with devastating post moves is rather terrifying. Of course, one session with Bryant won’t necessarily transform anything on the whole but, even in the 11th season of her WNBA career, Parker averaged 17.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in 2018. In short, she continued to make a significant mark with her play, despite the fact that the Sparks didn’t make a deep playoff run this time around.
This isn’t quite on the same level as Bryant famously coaching his daughter’s AAU team (and running the triangle offense to boot) but it is widely recognized that many players would love to learn from Kobe and that seemingly includes one of the best women’s players of all time in Parker. For a player entering her 12th season in the league, it’s not surprising Parker would turn to Bryant in looking for help in evolving her game.
Bryant, once one of the most explosive athletes in the league, made the transition to being one of the best back to the basket players as that athleticism faded. Parker seems to be looking to add more of that to her reportoire, and there aren’t many better teachers for that aspect of the game than Kobe.
