"He's a teacher": When late Kobe Bryant shared his admiration for Nick Saban during Alabama visit

Former college football coach Nick Saban spent 17 seasons with the Alabama Crimson Tide. He led the program to six national championships and turned it into one of the best college football teams in modern times.

In 2018, Saban had the opportunity of inviting former the late Kobe Bryant to the campus. When the 5x NBA champ arrived at the University of Alabama, he had high praise for the coach.

"He's a teacher," Bryant said about Saban. "He's gonna challenge his guys to really hit their full potential. But it's a grind. It has to be to be that way and that's why I've always admired about Nick Saban from afar and I'm looking forward to sitting down in the day and pick his brain a little bit about that."

During his visit, Bryant also met with the Alabama players. He wished them the best of luck for the 2018 season and motivated them to do their best as a team. The Crimson Tide emerged as the Southeastern Conference champs that campaign, but unfortunately, they lost the natty to the Clemson Tigers.

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Nick Saban had a heartfelt one-on-one with Kobe Bryant

When Saban and Bryant sat down to converse, they had a hearty talk about what it takes to be successful and the importance of having confidence in oneself. Saban praised Bryant and talked about how every great player in the world has confidence and a good work ethic apart from having talent.

"It was interesting, you know, hearing you speak today about, you know your mentality as a player and how your work ethic, your perseverance, gave you the confidence to be the kind of player that you were. And you know, my comment about that is every great player that I've ever met, they all have that. They all have talent, but they all have that," Saban said (1:36).

Bryant also discussed with Saban the difference in the mentality of his generation and the new generation of players. He felt that players nowadays focus more on their journey than appreciating the ride.

"Loving the process, loving the daily grind of it, putting the puzzle together. This generation seems to be really concerned with the end result of things, versus understanding and appreciating the journey to get there. The trials and tribulations that come along with it....it's all part of being the end game," Bryant said (2:00).

Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, died in a helicopter accident in 2020, which left a void in Saban and his cherished relationship with the Black Mamba.