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Rondae Hollis-Jefferson on channeling Kobe Bryant during World Cup: I watched Kobe, Jordan clips every day, and decided to wear the armband
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson: And so right after I won the Philippines championship, because I was refreshed, I wasn't playing in Korea. I'm averaging 10 minutes a game. The games I did play, I would dominate, but for the most part, I'm recharged going into the Philippines. So that's when I stopped drinking. I'm in bed by 9.30, 10 o'clock. I'm waking up at 4 or 5 am, and I'm working out. I'm super locked in. And literally from then on, it was the best basketball of my career. And that's where I'm watching Kobe every day. I'm watching Jordan every day. I'm just like, it's on repeat every single day. Any of my teammates from Puerto Rico to Turkey, to Korea, any of my teammates, every game, they'll see me on my phone. I'm not on Instagram. I'm not on, I'm watching Kobe. I'm watching Jordan. I'm just watching how they move. I'm watching how they're being guarded and all of these things. So, like leading up to the World Cup, I've always loved the armband and things like that. But leading up to the World Cup, I'm like, "Nah, this is gonna be special."
Former Timberwolves player Nathan Knight signed with South Korean team Sono SkyGunners for the 2025-26 season.
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Inspired by Westbrook’s mantra — “Why not?” is the namesake of his charitable foundation and signature shoes — Taehyun Kim left his job after about nine months to pursue his passion for basketball. Six years later, that pursuit led him from Suwon, South Korea, to Denver when the encounter of a lifetime unfolded. Kim was standing in the corner of Ball Arena, near his seat behind the Nuggets’ bench. He was already beaming as he watched Westbrook’s postgame interview on the Jumbotron. He had chosen a perfect game. Vintage Russ had made an appearance, scoring 25 points in a comeback win.
Vintage Russ had made an appearance, scoring 25 points in a comeback win. Then as the interview ended, Altitude Sports color analyst Scott Hastings pointed out Kim to Westbrook. “I appreciate you, brother,” the 36-year-old guard said, removing his blue Nuggets jersey and beelining toward a stunned Kim. Westbrook hugged the self-labeled superfan and signed the back of the jersey. “How can I express that?” Kim said later in an interview with The Denver Post, searching for the appropriate words to describe the interaction, both in English and in the language of human emotions. “That was like a movie. It’s not a reality. I just said, ‘Oh my god.'”
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NBA on ESPN: Russell Westbrook gave a fan his jersey after traveling from South Korea to watch him play ❤️ (via @NBA) pic.x.com/ebPItQoWPy
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