As Jordan Clarkson gets ready to lead Gilas Pilipinas tonight in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, he looks back to how the late Kobe Bryant helped him be the player he is today.
The Utah Jazz guard credited Bryant, a five-time National Basketball Association champion, in showing him the ropes during his early years with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Clarkson was drafted 46th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards before getting traded to the Lakers for cash considerations and played there until 2018.
“It meant a lot, you know. Being around in my early years. Definitely the GOAT (greatest of all time),” said Clarkson, who played with Bryant for two seasons with the Lakers.
“A guy who I learned a lot from and he taught me so much. He means a lot to my career and to the game of basketball.”
Clarkson averaged 15.5 points, four rebounds and 2.4 assists in the 2015-2016 NBA season, Bryant’s final year in the NBA.
After his stint in Los Angeles, he slowly rose into one of the most reliable guards in the NBA, teaming up with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2018 to 2019 before getting traded to Utah in 2019, where he would be one of the key pieces of the squad.
Last month, Clarkson signed a three-year, $55 million contract with the Jazz and is now focused on powering Gilas Pilipinas through the Dominican Republic, Italy and Angola in Group A.
The best-performing Asian team in the World Cup will be guaranteed an automatic slot for the 2024 Paris Olympics and Filipino fans can expect Clarkson will be playing not only for himself and for the country, but also for his former mentor.
“We have a chance to win games and get into the Olympics someday,” Clarkson said.
