Lakers News: Former LA Guard Recalls Surreal First Game Against Kobe Bryant

The Black Mamba left his mark on everyone!

Once Kobe Bryant decided to end his legendary career with the Los Angeles Lakers, he still remained very close to the game of basketball and specifically took a number of younger stars under his wing. We always hear of his FaceTime call with Kyrie Irving in the locker room after the Cavaliers' 2016 title along with the special message he left on Devin Booker's sneakers.

However, another iconic moment post-Bryant's playing career was when he gave out a number of challenges to NBA stars via his Twitter account. He told Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo he wanted to see him take home the MVP award for the 2016-2017 season, requested that So-Cal native DeMar DeRozan should rekindle a childhood friendship and also challenged recently-traded Isaiah Thomas to make the All-NBA 1st Team.

Thomas was at an interesting point in his career seeing that he had risen to stardom with the Boston Celtics but was dealt to Cleveland in a blockbuster trade for Kyrie Irving. Therefore, the Black Mamba only wanted to see him continue to thrive despite this move and a hip injury.

The two-time All-Star recently took to Instagram to to wish the late, great Bryant a happy 45th birthday and recalled the first time he took the floor against him as a young guard on the Sacramento Kings. Thomas was amazed to just be so close to the Lakers legend.

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A post shared by Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas)

"First time in my life I was actually scared of somebody on the basketball court. I Tried for so long this game to get his attention and he just looked straight thru me like I wasn’t even there. When I touched bros jersey it didn’t even seem real lol."

(Via @IsaiahThomas)

It's been amazing hearing all of the stories and memories that fans have of Bryant these past few days but it's definitely extra special when we hear insights from players that faced off against the five-time champion!

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