DeMar DeRozan and Kobe Bryant have some serious respect for one another.

The Toronto Raptors star took to Twitter on Wednesday to show off his fancy new basketball from Spalding:

S/O to @Spalding for sending me one of their balls celebrating the 125th anniversary of the invention of hoop. #TrueBelievers #125HoopYears pic.twitter.com/YwhaYB2CMy — DeMar DeRozan (@DeMar_DeRozan) December 21, 2016

He wasn't done there, though. The sporting goods company sent DeRozan a second limited edition ball, which the Compton, Calif. native gifted to the man he grew up idolizing:

.@Spalding gave me another #125HoopYears ball to send to someone I think impacted the game, so I had one sent to @kobebryant. #TrueBelievers pic.twitter.com/dI8I01q1cR — DeMar DeRozan (@DeMar_DeRozan) December 21, 2016

The Black Mamba, who retired at the end of last season, thanked DeRozan and provided some words of encouragement for the NBA's current master of the mid-range game: