CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving is a student of the game of basketball, and recently, he looked into history in an effort to improve his skills.
And Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is one of those players whom Irving watched while working to improve his mid-range game as of late. Tonight, Bryant makes his final appearance at Quicken Loans Arena, as he will retire at the end of the 2015-2016 season.
“As a kid, I could call myself an avid YouTube watcher of Kobe Bryant, but even over the last couple weeks, just seeing where I could continue to improve my mid-range game, I’ve been watching the Western Conference Finals against the Spurs in 2001,” Irving said. “He had an unbelievable series, and in 2002, I believe it was the semifinals against the Spurs, I watched a couple of his series highlights against the Suns and the Nuggets, and I don’t get tired of watching it at all.
“I definitely feel I can take a lot of knowledge from him, and a lot of my fundamentals come not only from my father, but from watching him, his square-up moves and his footwork. I still remember as a kid, my dad saying, ‘If you want to watch a basketball game, don’t watch the baskets going in all the time. If you want to get better, you watch the little things that make this game great.’
“It could be something so finite, so small that could make a defender go one way or make a defender go another way. Other players that have come before me have mastered that, and he’s specifically one of them.”
In 20 seasons with the Lakers, whom acquired him on a trade with the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA Draft, Bryant has scored 33,226 points, pulled down 6,985 rebounds, handed out 6,271 assists and converted 44.8 percent of his 25,822 shots from the field.
But more than the numbers, Bryant’s success can be measured by the five championship teams he was a part of and the tireless work ethic and competitiveness that are ever-present in his game.
“Just having an understanding of what mental toughness is and what it really means, it doesn’t necessarily extend to the floor,” Irving said. “It extends to what you do in training and the approach to the game. I think that was the biggest thing I took from it.”
When Irving takes the court against Bryant tonight, he does not know how to feel, but does want to help the Cavaliers (37-14) maintain their two-game lead over the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference standings.
“I think it’ll be bittersweet,” Irving said. “It’ll be bittersweet to see him play in Cleveland one last time. I think it’ll hit everyone at once that 2-4 is just retiring from the game. It’s crazy to think about, but his time has come and he’s accepted it. We’ve all accepted it as well.
“It’ll be an up-tempo game. They’ve been in a few games the last few, and Kobe’s been getting them up. We’ve just got to be ready for his aggressive mindset, as well as the rest of the guys. We’ve just got to come prepared, as we normally do in any other game.”
