The Lakers wouldn’t have had that whole era without either of them, and on the same day that Bryant was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame, Gasol spoke to Zach Lowe of ESPN about a wide range of topics, including how his and Bryant’s relationship at teammates started with a 2:00 a.m. meeting at the team hotel in Washington D.C. because Bryant didn’t want to wait to start what would become one of the most symbiotic partnerships in NBA history: “It was very early, when I joined the team in Washington D.C. after my physicals in L.A. (following the trade). The team was on the road, I joined the team, I wasn’t gonna play, they had an afternoon game the next day on Sunday. I was not gonna play that game, I hadn’t had a chance to practice or do anything, and Kobe had been texting me from the moment I got traded that as soon as I arrived in Washington D.C., he wanted to stop by in my room and kind of talk to me and welcome me to the team.