Kobe Bryant Built A Lakers Legacy That Hopefully Will Continue With LeBron James On Point

Tales of Kobe Bryant's greatness continue to come out months after his tragic death. The plane crash in January that denied the world further interactions with the NBA legend prompted testimonies from players of past and present, and mostly recalling how the Black Mamba strove to make the game that he loved to reach a greater level.

The latest to attest how exactly Bryant was a game-changer is Caron Butler, who suited up one season for the Lakers but asserted his short time of playing alongside Bryant was unforgettable. Butler said he had a connection with the former NBA superstar that somehow lingered on after he moved on.

According to Clutch Points, Butler's arrival to Los Angeles came out the blue. The small forward was part of the exchange package that the Miami Heat offered to the Purple & Gold so Shaquille O'Neal could go to Florida. The deal was sealed and Butler was sent packing to the west.

The former Miami man joined the Lakers at a time that Bryant signed a new contract with the club for $130 million, and Butler was expecting the next few days will be mostly idle. He was wrong.

Bryant instructed the new recruit to report for work the next day in the morning and when he did, minutes earlier from the appointed time, Bryant was already there all set up for practice and unmindful of the changes that just transpired days before. It was clear that former MVP was focused on perfecting his game and that of the Lakers and picks as many wins as possible. He refused to be distracted.

"That started my introduction to the Kobe sessions. It really introduced me to work ethic and all those things and how to be a professional in real-time," Butler was reported as saying.

From the Lakers, Butler played 11 more years with the league and he credited his one season as a Bryant teammate as career-defining.

Surely, Bryant left behind a legacy that for many will not be replicated for generations to come. However, Danny Green said he sees the likelihood of the Lakers reliving the glorious years of the Kobe Bryant era with the help of LeBron James.

James, according to Green, has the smarts to make the Purple & Gold rise again. The Lakers member said James knows how to win and that counts big.

"He's bringing this organization back to the level it was when Kobe was around," Green said, and per the story from Bleacher Report.

However, Green's vote of confidence for James has to lead to actual NBA titles for the Lakers. To put things into perspective, the team won five championships with Bryant so James has a lot of catching up to do. It's a good start for the former Cavs superstar as the Lakers are among the favored ones to win the Larry O'Brien this season.