BOSTON — A wiry and wide-eyed 19-year-old, D’Angelo Russell felt like he was in a movie.

He watched Kobe Bryant hit jumper after jumper, layup after layup, heating up on a temperate Los Angeles night as the Lakers star scored a spectacular 60 points in his final NBA game. Following a fourth-quarter comeback win over the Utah Jazz, Bryant dropped the mic and walked off the court as chants of “KO-BE, KO-BE” rang throughout Staples Center.

Russell, a rookie on that 2015-16 Lakers team, had nine points and five assists in that game. Though the two were teammates only briefly, that lone season set the stage for the rest of Russell’s career. It’s something he reflects on often.

“There were so many different jewels he dropped on me that I didn’t really understand,” Russell said recently. “But it was something that comes back around when you think of the time with him. You’re like ‘Damn, he really said that.’”

Russell’s rookie season coincided with Bryant’s ballyhooed retirement tour. On Nov. 29, after the Lakers started the season 2-14, Bryant announced his retirement via his now award-winning poem “Dear Basketball” published on The Players’ Tribune.

In the five months that followed, Bryant was showered with gifts and tribute videos at nearly every arena he visited by opponents who revered his work-ethic and competitive ethos. Russell, meanwhile, often showed up late to practices that he didn’t take seriously.

The Lakers’ head coach at the time, Byron Scott, was publicly critical of Russell, telling a local radio station, “He still has a lot of growing up to do.”

Amid what Russell acknowledges now was an overwhelming rookie season, he relished seeing how Bryant was treated throughout the league.

“My idols, the way they would talk to him, it was almost like they looked up to him,” Russell said. “That was just weird.”

Russell was born three months before Bryant was drafted in 1996. He was 4 when Bryant won his first championship. By the time Russell was a freshman at Ohio State, Bryant had achieved legendary status with five championships, two Finals MVPs and a regular season MVP.

“Being right next to him, it felt like if you touched him or tried to shake his hand, your hand would go through him like he wasn’t a real person almost,” Russell said. “It was cool. I cherished every moment.”

Despite the public fawning at Bryant’s celebrity, Russell appreciated the one-on-one moments when Bryant would share advice, from how to approach business partnerships to running a pick-and-roll. Related Articles Giannis Antetokounmpo wins second MVP award; Is an NBA title with Warriors next?

Warriors begin minicamp next week, Curry and Green unlikely to participate

How the Warriors are working to get more Black men teaching in San Francisco’s classrooms

As Clippers collapse shows, chemistry will be key for the Warriors to return to prominence

Warriors’ Steve Kerr says NBA needs more Black head coaches

But after one season, that mentor was gone, off to live a life away from basketball. And on Sunday, Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others.

Now, at 23, Russell, is an All-Star point guard playing well for the Warriors, where he has earned a reputation as a leader in the locker room and a willing learner. His first season in Golden State was met with skepticism about whether or not he could function within head coach Steve Kerr’s motion offense, but the team has been encouraged.

“D’Angelo’s been really good setting other guys up and also looking to score,” Kerr said. “Creating offense for us and playing at a high level.”

As Russell approaches the prime of his career, he won’t have Bryant to call on. Instead, he’ll have to reflect on his rookie season to mine for more jewels.

That includes the speech Bryant gave in front of a jubilant Staples Center crowd after his final game in April of 2016. He thanked the fans, his teammates and his family before concluding famously with, “What can I say? Mamba out.”

It resonated with Russell that Bryant didn’t take his career for granted.

“He was 100 percent sure that he worked as hard as he could, dissected every piece of film and killed every opponent he could,” Russell said. “He left a crazy imprint on the game that I don’t think anyone can really touch.”