Long before he became one of the best players in the NBA, Anthony Davis was just a 19-year-old trying to find his place on Team USA. Davis was a member of the gold medal-winning squad back in 2012, easily the youngest player on a roster loaded with superstars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and, of course, Kobe Bryant.
After Friday night's game at Staples Center, which featured multiple tributes to Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, the Lakers forward was asked about his favorite Kobe memory. Davis instantly pulled out a story that he will never forget.
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During an Olympic matchup with Nigeria, coach Mike Krzyzewski called Davis' number. Team USA had built an enormous lead, so this was a rare opportunity for Davis to log a few minutes and boost his stats. Unfortunately, he made a key mistake before he even reached the floor.
"I was just so happy to be around all these guys, you know, all these future Hall of Famers, and I forgot to put my jersey on before the game," Davis said. "So when Coach K called me to get in the game, I'm going up to the table and I'm about to take my warm-up shirt off, and I look down, and there's just a white T-shirt underneath. So I kind of creep back to the bench, and Coach K asked me like, 'What are you doing?' And I kind of whispered to him because I didn't want these guys to hear me. And I was like, 'I forgot my jersey.'
"I go sit down, and Kobe, he got on me. Like, I can't say what he said, but, you know, basically like, 'Why are you not going in the game? This is your chance.' I'm like, 'I don't got my jersey on.' And there's a picture where he's kind of looking into my warm-up. And he said some more things after that. So now before every game, I kind of just check to make sure I got my jersey on to this day. So he told me how to get dressed for a game, basically."
"He taught me how to dress for a game." Anthony Davis reflects on his favorite Kobe memory.
— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) February 1, 2020
More Kobe memories on 710 AM ESPN https://t.co/lFLD88TuIk pic.twitter.com/s7LadADN26
Photographers caught Bryant and other established veterans laughing at Davis, who eventually played in that game once he properly dressed himself.
So much for that whispering strategy.
Anthony Davis told a story about forgetting to put on his jersey at the Olympics and Kobe giving him a hard time for not being able to check into the game because of it.
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 1, 2020
AD checks his jersey before every game now. pic.twitter.com/FjlfZVQz5p
Only Kobe Bryant could turn something as basic as wearing a jersey into a lasting life lesson.
