Ang kanhi import sa TNT KaTropa Rondae Hollis-Jefferson nga karon mao ang pambato sa Jordan isip naturalized citizen nibutyag nga ang tambag ni anhing Kobe Bryant kaniya nakahatag og kahait sa iyang duwa.
Si Hollis-Jefferson, ang conference Best Import sa TNT Ka Tropa sa Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup, maoy nagtimon karon sa Asia’s fifth-ranked ug world No. 33 nga Jordan alang sa 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Human sa ilang duwa batok Greece, siya nipadayag nga ang iyang paghimamat kang Bryant niadtong 2016 maoy nakapausab sa iyang duwa.
“(Kobe) told me one day, 2016 I believe, all the teams were giving him gifts. I was the rookie on the (Brooklyn) Nets and I was giving him the farewell gift. We gave him a poetry book and a varsity jacket,” sigon ni Hollis-Jefferson.
“I was like ‘Hey, do you have any advice for me?’ He told me to fall in love with the elbow. Ever since then, I’ve just been working on my midrange and getting better at it every year,” dugang pa niya.
Si Bryant miretiro niadtong 2016 ug gihatagan kini og farewell sa mga team sa 2016 season. Si Bryant nakahimo pa og 60 puntos sa iyang final career game batok Utah Jazz niadtong tuiga.
Daghan pud og gaingon kadto nga ang style of play ni Hollis-Jefferson nga kanhi player sa Brooklyn Nets adunay similaridad kang Bryant. Matod ni Hollis-Jefferson nga gikalipay niya nga komplemento sa mga tawo kaniya nga kapareho sa iyang idolo nga si Black Mamba.
“It’s an honor for people to say that (about me) but at the end of the day, Kobe is Kobe. I’m Rondae. I definitely do watch a lot of his films — similar size and athletic ability,” ni Hollis-Jefferson.
“It was towards the end (of Kobe’s career) but I played against him one time. I guarded him once and it was a great memory for me. He passed the ball so I would say he didn’t score on me. It was definitely an honor to even share the court with him,” dugang pa niya.
Si Hollis-Jefferson nakahimo og 24 puntos ug siyam ka rebounds apan napilde sila sa Greece, 71-92, sa unang duwa sa 2023 FIBA World Cup. / RSC