He then dug deep to share a touching story of how Kobe Bryant helped him recover from a season-ending Achilles tendon injury. “That was a tough day for me. I had conversations with the management about re-signing, it hurt my soul and pride. It gave me a different view of life and basketball. A lot of things went through my mind. Kobe was the first person to reach out to me. He gave me a call, helped me through my process. Dwayne Wade also was there for me and made sure I was okay. We texted a couple of times after the injury [with Kobe]”.