[Rohlin] Pau Gasol on the greatest lesson he taught Kobе Bryant: “I don't know if I taught him much. A close person to him told me that I taught him еmpathy, which is something that I guess I'm honorеd and proud of to sharе that with him.”

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Over the years, Bryant alienated many teammates with his no-nonsense approach and single-minded drive to be the best. But Bryant and Gasol thrived together. There was a deep well of mutual respect during their six-plus years together, with both players learning from the other.

"I learned first-hand what it meant to be the best," Gasol said of playing with Bryant, a five-time champion in his 20-season career. "The effort, the commitment [and] the work ethic he had was unparalleled. It inspired so many players, not just on his team but beyond his team. It inspired a generation, probably multiple generations of players that we see today."

Bryant, who diеd alongside his daughtеr Gianna and seven others in a helicoptеr crash in January 2020, also sang Gasol's praises. He repeatedly called Gasol his brother and would use an "hermano" hashtag whenever he wrote about him on Twitter. Bryant also made it clear that he wouldn't have won his final two titles without Gasol, noting that their jerseys should one day hang next to each other in the rafters at Staples Center.

When asked what was the greatest lesson he taught Bryant, Gasol shrugged at first. "I don't know if I taught him much," he said before recalling a conversation that reminded him otherwise.

"A close person to him told me that I taught him еmpathy, which is something that I guess I'm honored and proud of to share that with him," Gasol said.

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His soft touch, agility under the basket and unselfish play earned him widespread praise. But he wasn't included among the NBA's 75 Greatest Players, an omission that was widely considered a snub.

Gasol, however, didn't pay that much heed.

"I don't really care too much about lists," he said. "I think, to a certain degree, they're very subjective. I'm really happy about how I played through my NBA career and the impact that I've had on my teams and teammates, and that's what I care about. Lists, at the end of the day, are to create maybe a little controversy or a little talk here and there, and that's OK. That's part of the sport, and that's how it should be. So I'm not offended by any means. And if I would've been on the list, I wouldn't think that I'm better than some of the many other great players that are not on the list."