D'Angelo Russell was only 19 years old when the Los Angeles Lakers selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. That also happened to be Kobe Bryant's final season in the NBA, his 20th as a Laker.
Russell, who now is in his first season with the Warriors, entered the league when a legend was exiting. On Sunday, Kobe, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others, died tragically at 41 years old when the helicopter they were in crashed in Calabasas.
On Sunday night, Russell took to Instagram to pay tribute to Bryant, writing "I find myself hearing every bit of advice you ever gave me."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Russell played 80 games as a rookie in the 2015-16 season. He averaged 13.2 points and 3.3 assists per game on a Lakers team that only won 17 games. In D-Lo's last game as a rookie, Bryant scored 60 points in the regular-season finale, a 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz.
[RELATED: How Kobe's presence transcended NBA and into life itself]
Golden State Warriors
Now 23 years old, there is no doubt Russell is using the knowledge he soaked up from Bryant to try to become a perennial All-Star himself.