Coach K relentlessly pursued Kobe: 'He kept calling me and calling me'

Kobe Bryant once stated that had he not decided to enter the 1996 NBA Draft straight out of high school, he was leaning towards attending North Carolina.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend wanted to follow Vince Carter and was allured by the Tar Heels' storied history. But that didn't stop Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who remained relentless in his pursuit of Bryant.

"I was never a Duke fan growing up," Bryant told Sports Illustrated's Jonathan Jones. "I was a Michigan dude so that was like the opposite. So when it came to the recruiting process, Coach K stayed with me. He kept calling me and calling me and calling me.

"He was like, 'Listen, I hear you may be going pro but in the event that you don’t, I want to make sure that this is the place you go. So I’m going to keep on recruiting.' Which is what he did. And that’s how he and I wound up having the great relationship that we did."

Krzyzewski has coached Bryant multiple times on the international stage. The pair won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in Beijing and London.

Bryant was drafted 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets and became the first-ever guard selected directly out of high school. He never played a game for the club and was traded to the Lakers before the start of the 1996-97 season.