This trend sets the fifth-year veteran up for success.
Lin has been a solid shooter over his NBA career. However, he's struggled with turnovers and has plenty of room for improvement on the defensive end of the court.
He's taken the opportunity to address these areas under the tutelage of Kobe Bryant.
During an interview with Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding, Lin spoke about how he's going about soaking up knowledge from one of the Association's all-time greats:
[Bryant is] such a normal guy away from everything...he's human. ...
He cares about all the little things. It's like the stuff that he talks to me about, I didn't ever think about it. Little stuff. I'm, like, "Oh, OK. That's one way to look at it." He's challenging me to expand my perspective.
I think that's really important, and that's something that I love doing. It's a blessing that he's here in the same locker room.
On the court, Bryant has been a successful on-ball defender, and he's taken a mentor role with Lin in that regard.
Bryant told Ding that he has some high expectations for Lin's future on defense. "Jeremy's biggest challenge, which he loves, is that I'm really going to challenge him to be a great defensive player—because he can. He has the speed, he has the length, he has the size. He has never had to take on that challenge, but I think he can be a great defensive player," he said.
Lin has always had the tools to succeed on both ends of the court, but now his maturity and willingness to learn put him in position to truly take advantage of his natural ability.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
