Almost one year after his tragic death, NBA fans are still mourning Kobe Bryant’s passing and whenever we get to see something that he did while he was still alive, fans started talking about it. 

It happened with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ award-winning docu-series “The Last Dance” and it’s the same case with Tony Parker’s brand new documentary “The Last Shot”. The former NBA point guard released a new documentary and Kobe, one of his closest friends and biggest rivals on the court, has a little appearance on it. 

His participation is short, but every NBA fan has made sure to check the documentary on Netflix to see what Kobe had to say about Parker. True to his style, the Black Mamba talked about how he used to taunt Parker and his tricks to get under his skin. 

Kobe Bryant reveals how he contributed to Tony Parker’s development in the NBA 

Big NBA names like Tim Duncan, Gregg Popovich appear in the documentary but Kobe’s presence had something special. The Los Angeles Lakers legend talked about Parker’s early days in the NBA and how Kobe was always trying to get him out of the game. 

“I remember games where Tony had a really, really short leash. He makes one mistake, Pop’s gonna pull him out of the game. So I would tell Tony, ‘you know what I’m gonna trap you cause. If you dribble the ball off your foot, you turn the ball over and you are out of the game.’… I think that kind of pressure and environment helped Tony develop and play in those pressure situations. I think it was the 2003 series. In 2003 I think that’s when things clicked in for him and he became very, very difficult for us to handle him. I think his game became well-rounded. I think he had a pretty good handle, the one offensively Pop wanted from him.”

Parker was a complete unknown when he entered the league in the 2001 NBA draft. San Antonio Spurs picked the French player with the 21st overall pick not knowing what to expect from him. What followed was a terrific career for the Frenchman, who won four NBA championships with San Antonio in 17 years with the franchise. 

He played in many showdowns against the Lakers and Kobe, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. The relationship between Bryant and Parker was really good and they were always pushing each other to improve their level. It’s always good to see what Kobe had to say about former rivals and this time the occasion was more special.