Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Duke University head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski share a strong bond that not many people are aware of. The relationship started when Coach K was recruiting Bryant, who at time, was attending Lower Merion High School. Although Kobe eventually decided to take his talents to the NBA he has admitted that he would have become a Duke Blue Devil if he had not turned pro out after high school.

Bryant and Krzyzewski did not get a chance to join forces at Duke, but they did come together during the 2008 Summer Olympics. Bryant respects Krzyzewski greatly and considers one of the greatest coaches of all-time. As for Coach K, he finds Kobe as one of the hardest working players and enjoyed coaching him in Beijing.

Los Angeles Times: “I really like Kobe a lot. He’s easy to coach. He buys into everything,” Krzyzewski once said. “He’ll do whatever he thinks he needs to do to bring about a championship. He’s proven it, and he wants to prove it again. There are lot of people who prove it once and never want to do it again. He’s uncommon. He wants to prove it over and over again. There is nothing bad about Kobe Bryant.”

Bryant has already announced his desire to play in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, so it looks like the two will once again share a sideline.