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Pelicans' Hield on Kobe: "I think footwork was his cheat code"

Jerome Miron / USA TODAY Sports

In another telling edition of the Player's Tribune, New Orleans Pelicans shooting guard Buddy Hield revealed his close and rather unexpected relationship with legend Kobe Bryant.

A month after being drafted, Hield had the opportunity for an early morning workout with the Mamba - a two-hour, methodical affair that never left one half of the court, he said.

"I tried to observe everything about Kobe during the workout. I didn’t know if I’d have another chance like this again and I wanted to impress him," Hield said. "The dude is very serious when he works out. He doesn’t joke around in between drills or talk about non-basketball stuff. It’s all basketball."

Time and time again, Bryant had Hield emulate specific moves he was doing - sequences, he said, "that you might not even attempt once" in a game.

And though Hield was keeping the pace, the veteran pointed out his feet, and what Hield believes may be the secret to Kobe Bryant.

"I know people like to say that basketball is all about footwork, but if our workout was anything like what he did during his career, Kobe took it to a whole other level," Hield said.

"Actually, if that’s how he worked out during his career, Kobe treated footwork kind of like a religion. I watched a lot of Kobe when I was growing up and even when he was in his prime there were other guys in the league who were way more athletic. But I think footwork was his cheat code."

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