Aside from winning three Sixth Man of the Year awards and establishing himself as one of the most potent off-the-bench scorers in NBA history, another distinction that Lou Williams proudly wears like a badge of honor is the fact that he was able to play with two of the game's most iconic players: Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant .
While he played and learned a lot with A.I. on the Philadelphia 76ers early in his career, Williams spent just one season with the Black Mamba. Unfortunately for him, it was also Kobe's very last of his illustrious 20-year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers .
Looking back on the experience, Williams wishes he could have played with Bryant at the peak of his powers.
Nobody can deny that Kobe gave his all to the game. If he could stand, run, and jump, he would most certainly don the purple and gold uniform and get on the court. However, in 2015-16, Kobe's swan song saw him play like a shell of his former self, averaging just 17.6 points on a dismal 35.8 percent shooting.
Williams was already 29 at the time and had previously seen Bryant dominate the NBA with a ferocity and fire akin to what Michael Jordan regularly displayed. And seeing the 6'6″ shooting guard hobble up and down the floor, missing more than he was making shots, made him wish he could have played with the younger version of the Black Mamba.
"I wish I was with Kobe, um, at an earlier time in his career, 'cause by the time I got to him, he was fighting to get on the court," Williams shared . "You know, he was dealing with the shoulder situation and the Achilles and all of those things, and just trying to do the best that he can."
Kobe's last three NBA seasons were a far cry from what most fans had grown accustomed to. After tearing his Achilles tendon during the 2012-13 season, he wasn't able to regain the pop that made him the most feared player of his generation. He played just 107 games and averaged 18.9 points per game in his last three seasons.
"I ain't get a chance to see the killer," Lou stated.
Although Kobe wasn't able to perform to the standards of his previous self, Lou-Will shared that he still had a lot of fight left in him and tried his best to impart his approach to his teammates, especially the younger ones.
Since he was no longer as effective on the floor, he felt compelled to guide the players who would carry the torch after he retired. After a blowout to the Portland Trail Blazers , Kobe felt the time for talking was through; he needed to act to teach the players a lesson they wouldn't forget.
According to Williams, the very next day, their curiosity was piqued when they saw the team's equipment manager removing Kobe's signature sneakers from the players' lockers.
"So me and Nick Young sitting like: 'What you doing?' 'Kobe said he doesn't want y'all wearing his shoes, y'all f–king soft,'" Lou recalled.
Kobe wasn't able to show his killer instinct as much in the twilight of his career. But it never meant he had less venom in his veins, as his teammates found out.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Sep 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
