“Someone I met in my industry that I really looked up to is the Kobe Bryant,” said A’Ja Wilson in a recent interview. Wilson’s respect for Kobe Bryant has always been on display. She has always spoken highly about Kobe. It was the May 26th game in 2019, when the Lakers legend brought his daughter Gigi and her AAU team to meet her, and according to the Aces Star, that moment was just incredible.

“That moment there was just incredible because you’re talking about someone that is the goat of basketball. Someone that you would hope that you could get a pinch of his mentality his mindset in order to be great.” Wilson spoke to Marie Claire after being named their sports cover star. “He was sitting there having a conversation with me telling me that my jump shot looks good. Like that right there was all I needed to hear like nothing else matters in the world.”

Imagine your role model being impressed by your skills! That’s how A’Ja Wilson felt about the praise from Kobe Bryant. “Kobe Bryant said I had a nice fadeaway jumper. Not a lot of people have that opportunity to say that they met their role model let alone the Kobe Bryant that moment was huge.”

Just like Kobe Bryant, A’Ja Wilson believes she also has leadership skills. She loves communicating with people and loves forming bonds with different people to get the best out of them. She formed one such bond with the Lakers legend, as she revealed in another heartfelt interview.

Not the first time A’Ja Wilson shared the impact of Kobe Bryant on her career

Speaking with KNTV Las Vegas in 2021, the Aces star said that Kobe was someone who really inspired her, in a way that she didn’t see until he was gone. She added that Kobe meant a lot to the WNBA and women’s basketball as a whole. Wilson also thinks that Kobe’s daughters made him realize the growth the women basketball players could have in their game and the level at which they could play. The Lakers legend got to witness it because of fatherhood, according to Wilson.

Just like 2x WNBA MVP had respect for Kobe, Wilson revealed that the Mamba also had all the respect for WNBA players. She opined that support from players like Kobe was the key to the league moving upward and into the future. “The basketball God, the basketball G.O.A.T — and was really 10 toes down for us. That’s something that is truly special,” said the reigning and defending 2x WNBA champion.

A’ja Wilson also suggested how Bryant’s legacy could be celebrated. For the people at home, the one thing they can do about carrying on Kobe’s legacy is to respect women’s basketball. And not just women’s basketball, but women’s sports as a whole.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.