Each time he backed down Houston's Shane Battier(notes) in the post and then deftly spun around him for a layup Wednesday night, Bryant jogged up court staring into the same pocket of fans seated courtside across from the scorer's table.

The man who met his gaze knew exactly the message Bryant was trying to convey.

"He looked at me to confirm, 'I'm using what you taught me,'" Olajuwon said. "That was the greatest gift for me. It was wonderful."

Here's something to think about (courtesy of SLAM): After 14 successful years in the league, Kobe can — and still wants to — learn from The Dream, yet Andrew Bynum is done with Kareem Abdul Jabbar after only a couple of injury-plagued seasons.

File under reason number 6,947 why Kobe Bryant is a beast.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_d ... nba,200710

Yes, that's Kobe Bryant(notes), working last summer on his post game with arguably the most agile, inventive center of all time. We expect to see legendary big men tutoring their fledgling heirs, because it's a secret club, a select society and a dark, dark art. Somehow being a point guard isn't, but whatever.

Hakeem was helping Josh Smith(notes) out a few summers back, but even that couldn't help Smith's power game; Patrick Ewing worked with Yao and now Dwight Howard(notes). Andrew Bynum(notes), he's doing the slow break-up thing with Kareem after three seasons.

But Kobe, 14 years and 4 rings into a Hall of Fame career—not to mention a 6'6" guard—is willing to sit at the feet of a master and let it sink in. And then put it to good use. From The Press Enterprise:

Bryant showcased some of what he learned in front of Olajuwon on Wednesday night, shaking off the effects of a lingering cold to score 41 points on 15-for-30 shooting in an overtime victory against the Rockets. Olajuwon was especially pleased to see Bryant take a perimeter defensive ace such as Battier into the post and comfortably turn and score around him with either shoulder, one of the skills they worked on together. […]

"He wanted to work on his post moves, and he wanted me to work with him," Olajuwon said. "That's a great compliment because I know I added value to his game. Now to see him using it, that's a great thing for me."

If this is the way Bryant copes with aging, who know what's next. He could play another eight years, especially after that week of Stockton Sessions. Jordan went fadeaway, but Kobe, he'll end up a point power forward by the time he's 36.

Link: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=t ... ;type=lgns