{
  "id": 1276527,
  "title": "How Russell Westbrook earned Kobe Bryant's respect while at UCLA",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/how-russell-westbrook-earned-kobe-bryants-respect-while-at-ucla",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-16T13:34:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/russell-westbrook-earned-kobe-bryants-133426723.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "UCLA alumnus Darren Collison recently shared an insight into how Russell Westbrook gained Kobe Bryant's respect during their time at UCLA. Collison, a veteran 11-year NBA player, recounted a specific moment when Westbrook guarded the late Kobe Bryant during a pickup game. Collison noted that Bryant was tough on everyone on the court during these games, yet Westbrook managed to make it more challenging for Bryant, even though he was still a student at the time. Collison remarked that Westbrook's defensive prowess during this college season helped him earn respect from even the greatest players. This story, alongside others, illustrates that Westbrook has always possessed a strong, assertive personality from a young age.",
  "summary": "\"Russ kind of made it a little bit more difficult and Russ was still in college...We know how great of a scorer he was, but he gained Kobe's respect.\"",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Klay Thompson breaks silence with ‘emotional’ confession on former rival Russell Westbrook’s retirement",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/klay-thompson-breaks-silence-with-emotional-confession-on-former",
        "published": "2026-08-14T17:31:19.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}