Women's basketball players honor Kobe Bryant's legacy in development of their sport

Dearica Hamby still smiles at the memory of Kobe Bryant sitting courtside at WNBA games.

She had met him years ago.

He came to see her old team, the Las Vegas Aces, play all the time.

I think one of the first things he told me was that I could play defense," Hamby recalled.

"And I was kind of like Wha-at? ...

That's something I'll cherish with me forever.

That epitomized the late NBA great's relationship with the women's game.

After his 20-year playing career ended, Bryant turned his focus to the next generation, mentoring some of women's basketball's biggest stars, from WNBA champion and Olympic gold medalist Diana Taurasi to former Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu.

He worked out with them, analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of their game and pushed for them to reach the same heights in popularity that he and his NBA peers did.

Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant attend an NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks on Dec.

29, 2019, in Los Angeles.

For Hamby, now with the Los Angeles Sparks, Bryant saw an aspect of her game she didn't even know she had.

If Kobe tells you you can play defense, you can play defense," she quipped.

Five years after Bryant, 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, several women's basketball players reflected on what he meant to their game and how he championed it.

Many of them thought Bryant would be pleased with the overall progress of women's sports, which have skyrocketed in popularity and reach in recent years.

That growth has been most prominent in the women's basketball arenas that Bryant and Gianna loved so much.

The WNBA last season had its most-watched regular season in 24 years and its best attendance in 22 seasons.

Some of the league's most popular players currently are competing in a new 3-on-3 league in South Florida called Unrivaled, founded by Olympic gold medalists Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.

We carry this on for him, said Satou Sabally, a forward with the WNBA's Dallas Wings who plays for the Phantom squad in Unrivaled.

He would be so proud of this league.

He would be proud of Phe and Stewie.

I know that hes looking down and hopefully hes smiling and is proud of us.

Vinyl's Dearica Hamby, center, catches a rebound as Rose's Azura Stevens, right, defends during the first half of a 3-on-3 basketball game on Jan.

17 in Medley, Fla.

Sabally said she still gets emotional when she thinks of that day on Jan.

26, 2020.

It reminds her of her playing days at Oregon, when she, Ionescu and their Ducks teammates connected over Bryant.

I think about ...

how we all bonded together over Kobe and how we bonded together for the rest of our lives because he was so impactful, Sabally added.

He was really a person that saw us women as the talents who we are.

He came to the games, he was so outspoken and he really was really supportive." The shock of the superstar's death echoed throughout the sports and entertainment worlds, with many taking to social media to post emotional tributes to Bryant while expressing their disbelief.

People were glued to their phones and TV screens as news of the crash spread.

NBA players were in tears ahead of games that day.

I still remember exactly where I was whenever we heard the news," said Kate Martin of the Golden State Valkyries, playing for Laces BC at Unrivaled, "and no one really knew if it was fake or real.

I think thats just one of those things where youre just always going to remember exactly where you were when you heard that.

Martin never met Bryant but said she cherishes his mentality he had a relentless competitiveness and the way he elevated women's sports.

Bryant became heavily involved with his daughters' hoops journeys and coached Gianna's youth team.

He was often at women's basketball games, especially college ones, with Gianna, who was fascinated with the UConn Huskies.

Gianna was in line to further Bryant's legacy on the court.

The plan was for her to attend Connecticut, and surely the WNBA was next.

Bryant was passionate about women's sports despite the belief of some that he should not have been involved with the womens game at all because of a 2003 charge accusing him of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old employee at a Colorado resort.

Bryant had said the two had consensual sex, and the charge was eventually dropped when the woman declined to testify at trial.

The woman later filed a civil suit against Bryant that was settled out of court.

There's an image that still circulates in the sports world today: Kobe and Gianna sitting courtside at a 2019 game featuring his Los Angeles Lakers.

He wore a bright orange pullover with a white WNBA logo on the front.

Gianna sat beaming at his side.

I think a lot of people started to follow behind Kobe because he recognized our gift and our talent and how special it really is," said former Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, the current coach of Unrivaled's Vinyl BC.

"And his daughter was right there as well.

That's who Bryant had become a face of women's sports advocacy.

Hes greatly missed, Martin said.

But now his legacy will live on forever.

When Victor Wembanyama was selected #1 overall in the 2023 NBA draft, he already had success in the French league at the age of 19.

His skills and experience make it less surprising that the San Antonio Spurs player is already a star in his first year.

His debut performance on the court was so impressive that he was named NBA's Rookie of the Year in May.

However, other young, seemingly promising draft picks have not always fared as well.

Before 2006, players could forgo college and be drafted straight out of high school.

These young athletes were critiqued more on raw talent than experience, and some of them turned out to be generational stars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, but more were unsuccessful in their transition to pro sports.

Because of this, the league altered its eligibility rules to state that players must be at least 19 or a year removed from their high school graduation class the year they're drafted.

Though the days of pros straight out of high school are over, ATS.io compiled a ranking of the youngest players in NBA history using Stathead data.

The players' ages when they made their NBA debut were used to determine the ranking.

Read on to learn which youngsters thrived, which flopped, and which player made his NBA debut just six days after turning 18.

- NBA debut age: 18 years, 241 days - Team: Utah Jazz Before the 2005 draft, C.J.

Miles had already signed on to the University of Texas basketball team, his father declaring if C.J.

wasn't drafted in the first round, his son would opt to play college ball.

When the Utah Jazz picked him 34th (four picks into the second round), the shooting guard decided he'd forgo college if the franchise guaranteed him a contract (something only first-round picks generally receive).

They obliged and signed Miles to a two-year deal.

After signing with the Jazz, the Skyline High star became the youngest player in franchise history; however, the move didn't appear to pan out.

During his first season, Miles was assigned to the D-League Albuquerque Thunderbirds, with the Jazz saying he needed more experience.

The following season, he played 21 games in the NBA before being reassigned to the D-League team the Idaho Stampede.

Although he didn't live up to the hype of his high school career, Miles ended up playing in the league until 2022 for numerous teams.

He last played for the G League team Ignite in 2022.

- NBA debut age: 18 years, 217 days - Team: Golden State Warriors Andris Biedrins was picked 11th overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 2004 draft.

The Latvian center didn't wow during his first season in the Bay Areahe played 30 games and averaged 3.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game.

But those numbers grew, and by the 2007-08 season, he was averaging 10.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.

In 2007, Biedrins was an integral part of the "We Believe" team that upset the #1 seeded Dallas Mavericks as an #8 seed in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the Utah Jazz in the 2007 NBA Western Conference semifinals.

During their improbable playoff run, the big man played 11 games and averaged 6.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.

Biedrins ended up playing with the Warriors until 2013.

He was traded to the Jazz in the latter part of the 2013-14 season and played six games with them before retiring.

- NBA debut age: 18 years, 181 days - Team: Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers used their #12 pick on Yaroslav Korolev in the 2005 draft, but the perplexing thing is he hardly played in the NBA.

Despite only being 18 when he was drafted, the forward had already been playing professional basketball in his native Russia and was on the CSKA Moscow (the top club in Russia) roster in 2004-05.

However, he played for the junior team.

Korolev played only 127 minutes in his rookie year and even fewer in his second year.

He signed a two-year guaranteed contract as a first-round pick but hardly played.

He was waived before the start of the 2007-08 season.

Although he never lived up to his draft status, Korolev did play in the D-League in 2009-10, then the Euroleague.

He officially retired in 2016.

- NBA debut age: 18 years, 160 days - Team: Toronto Raptors Tracy McGrady was the 9th overall pick in the 1997 draft and came straight out of North Carolina's Mount Zion Christian Academy.

The Toronto Raptors drafted the Floridian and, unfortunately, had trouble adjusting not only to the NBA but the Canadian climate as well.

As a result, he only played 53 games in the three years he was in Toronto.

Although his time as a Raptor was lackluster, McGrady had a fruitful 16-year career.

When he announced his retirement in 2013, the guard had a career average stat line of 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists.

He played with the Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, and San Antonio Spurs.

He also made seven All-Star teams between 2001 and 2008 during his time with the Magic and Rockets.

- NBA debut age: 18 years, 156 days - Team: Atlanta Hawks When Bill Willoughby was drafted 19th in 1975, he was only the third player to skip college and go straight to the NBA.

The forward was a phenom in high school, but unfortunately, his skill didn't translate well at the pro level.

As a result, he was traded often and played for six different teams during his eight-year career.

Willoughby later said he regretted foregoing college to go pro and ended up receiving his degree at age 44 (the NBA paid for his schooling).

Despite a lackluster career, the New Jerseyan does have a claim to fame: With a 47-inch vertical leap, he was one of the only players who could block Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's famous skyhook.

- NBA debut age: 18 years, 139 days - Team: Philadelphia Warriors Stan Brown was the first basketball player in history to go straight from high school to the pros.

In fact, he was still in high school when his career began as a player on the American Basketball League's Philadelphia Sphas in 1946.

The following year, he joined the Philadelphia Warriors of the Basketball Association of America (later rebranded as the NBA in 1949).

Brown played 19 games as a Warrior in the 1947-48 season and then returned in the 1951-52 season to play 15 more games.

During his 34 games in the BAA/NBA, the forward averaged 3.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game in 9.4 minutes per game.

- NBA debut age: 18 years, 133 days - Team: Detroit Pistons Darko Milicic was picked second overall in the 2003 draft, behind LeBron James.

Unfortunately for the Serbia native, the Detroit Pistons were already an elite team, so he didn't get much playing time during his rookie season.

As a result, the big man wasn't allotted the experience to grow his game and is widely considered an NBA bust.

However, Milicic did win a championship with the Pistons his rookie year and still holds the distinction of being the youngest player to appear in an NBA finals game and the youngest player to win a title.

Despite not living up to his potential, Milicic played in the NBA for 10 years.

He bounced around from five different teams for the final seven years of his career.

- NBA debut age: 18 years, 72 days - Team: Los Angeles Lakers Because Kobe Bryant played with the Los Angeles Lakers for the entirety of his 20-season career, it's easy to forget the Charlotte Hornets technically drafted him with the 13th pick in the 1996 draft.

(He was traded two weeks later for Vlade Divac.) It was clear Bryant was going to be a star from the get-go.

The guard made his NBA debut on Nov.

3, 1996, against the Minnesota Timberwolves; on Jan.

28, 1997, he became the youngest player to start an NBA game.

By his second season, Bryant was already an All-Star.

Bryant went on to be an All-Star 18 times during his two decades in the league.

He also won five championships and countless other accolades.

- NBA debut age: 18 years, 53 days - Team: Portland Trail Blazers The 1996 draft was a good one for talented teenagers.

The Portland Trail Blazers selected Jermaine O'Neal 17th overall.

The big man made his NBA debut on Dec.

5, 1996, against the Denver Nuggets and held the title of youngest player to play in an NBA game for nearly a decade.

O'Neal was traded to the Indiana Pacers after four years in Portland.

His star rose with the Pacers.

During eight seasons in Indiana, the young player was named an All-Star six times and an All-NBA selection three times.

O'Neal played for five more teams before retiring in 2014 and averaged 13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game during his 18-year career.

- NBA debut age: 18 years, 6 days - Team: Los Angeles Lakers Andrew Bynum was selected 10th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2005 draft and made his NBA debut on Nov.

2, 2005, against the Denver Nuggets at just 18 years and six days old.

The center's career took a few years to get established, but he ended up playing with the Lakers until 2012, the same year he was named an All-Star.

During that time, Bynum won championships in 2009 and 2010.

The big man split the 2013-14 season between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers.

Unfortunately, a knee injury sustained that season ended his career prematurely at the age of 26.

Bynum averaged 11.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game during his career.

Story editing by Carren Jao.

Copy editing by Robert Wickwire.

Photo selection by Clarese Moller.

This story originally appeared on ATS.io and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

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