Earlier this week, UCLA men's basketball alumnus Russell Westbrook retired from the NBA after 18 remarkable seasons spent with seven franchises. Since the Bruins legend called it a career, many professionals from across the sports world have reacted to the news, including fellow UCLA alumnus Darren Collison. The 11-year NBA veteran recalled on NBA TV's "The Association" when Westbrook earned Kobe Bryant's respect while he was still a student in Westwood.
"We obviously played a lot of the NBA guys throughout the offseason when they came to UCLA and the late Kobe Bryant was one of them. I remember Kobe Bryant, he just pretty much had it with everybody on the court during a pickup game, but there was this one particular moment when Russ was guarding him," Collison recalled. "Russ kind of made it a little bit more difficult and Russ was still in college. I'm not saying he stopped him by any means necessary. We know how great of a scorer he was, but he gained Kobe's respect. "Russ became one of the premier dominant defenders throughout that whole college season and I think that was the start of it. When you see Russ guarding Kobe throughout the pickup game, you're like, 'OK, whoa, I think we got something.' We have one of the best defenders even on our team."
Based on this story and many others, it's clear that Westbrook has always had that "dawg" in him from a very young age.
Darren Collison shares a Russell Westbrook story from their college days: "We obviously played a lot of the NBA guys throughout the offseason when they came to UCLA and late Kobe Bryant was one of them. I remember Kobe Bryant, he just pretty much had it with everybody on the… pic.twitter.com/3hJHPP4sQc — Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) August 13, 2026 This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: How Russell Westbrook earned Kobe Bryant's respect while at UCLA