Since retiring in 2002, legendary Houston Rockets center and Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon has regularly offered his services to teach low-post moves to the next generation of NBA players.

Olajuwon has had a long list of famous clients, including LeBron James and Dwight Howard — both currently with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Related LeBron James shares a postgame moment with Hakeem Olajuwon

But according to “The Dream,” it was actually another Laker — and a guard, at that — who was his best student of all.

Yes, it’s the late Kobe Bryant.

In an April 2016 interview with Sporting News, here’s how Olajuwon recalled his training sessions with Bryant in Texas.

I’ve worked with a lot of players, but the one who really capitalized on it the most is Kobe Bryant. When I watch him play, he’ll go down in the post comfortably, naturally, and he’ll execute it perfectly.

As Bryant’s 20-year career progressed and he inevitably lost some of his younger athleticism, he increasingly incorporated a crafty low-post game — much like Michael Jordan did in the 1990s — to compensate for not having the same perimeter burst and explosion near the rim.

After his final game in Houston on April 10, 2016, Bryant thanked Olajuwon on the court at Toyota Center once the game went final.

In speaking to reporters about their postgame exchange, Bryant said:

I watched Hakeem so much growing up — so much of him. Then to be able to come out here and him being generous enough with his time and spend the entire day with him in his house working on footwork, going over every detail in the post. Sharing his knowledge with me. Hopefully this generation understands how great he was. Hopefully they go back and watch and appreciate his greatness. I just wanted to thank him.

Kobe Bryant extremely appreciative of Hakeem Olajuwon @DR34M "Thank you! …I just want to thank him" #Rockets pic.twitter.com/TgIGImAogX — Shahan Ahmed (@shahanLA) April 10, 2016

Earlier this week, Bryant passed away at 41 years old in a tragic helicopter crash. Everyone on board died, including his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. That’s brought a renewed focus on Bryant’s unique and historic legacy, both on and off the basketball court.

During his 20 seasons with the Lakers from 1996 through 2016, Bryant was a five-time NBA champion; an 18-time All-Star; a two-time Olympic gold medalist; and an MVP, among his numerous accolades. He’s the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history, one spot ahead of Jordan.

Beyond his on-court play, Bryant was also a renowned basketball fan and historian. That makes it no surprise at all that he was willing to publicly credit an NBA great like Olajuwon for helping enable his success.

Naturally, the always humble Olajuwon reciprocated the gesture.