After being drafted second-overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2015 draft, D'Angelo Russell looked forward to playing with one player on their roster–Kobe Bryant.

The thought of playing with one of the best ever motivated him to get in shape and prepare for last season ahead of time. He spent time in the team's practice facility regularly and during one of his workouts, the staff present that day told him Kobe would be there as well.

During a one-on-one interview with Rob Perez of Fox Sports, the Ohio State product recalled his first encounter with the Black Mamba and how excited he was that day:

“Everybody was like: ‘Kobe's coming today' -€“ which was a big thing because he really never came through until two or three weeks in, then he showed up and I was like: ‘Wow, that's Kobe Bryant…' He had this smirk on his face I'll never forget but it makes a ton of sense now because no one knew he was retiring yet.”

Last season can be considered one of the saddest ones for the Lakers as their franchise player decided to hang up his sneakers for good after 20 seasons in the NBA. The proud franchise also missed out on making the playoffs and is now bound to start its rebuilding process.

Russell's performance in his rookie year is a forgettable one as well. Despite averaging 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 28.8 minutes per game, his inexperience and poor shot selection was exposed as the season went on, he also lost his starting role in some games. His troubles were not only on the court as the infamous video he shot of his teammate Nick Young's admitting infidelity went viral, adding to the unwanted distraction he and his team got. In his own words, this is how the Louisville-native described his 2015-2016 season:

“It was bad, it wasn't the best rookie year. But, I had some big learning experience from it and coming into this year – I'm beyond excited.”

With a new coach in Luke Walton and a revamped roster to look forward to in less than two months, the Los Angeles faithful share the same optimism with their 20-year-old point guard. It's a new beginning for them and they all look to put their troubles and struggles of the past all behind them:

“He wants me to shoot the ball when I'm open, When a coach tells you to shoot the ball, it's like a green light for you … But the catch is you got to be good enough to know that when you're not open, you gotta pass. That's the responsibility he's thrown at me and everybody.”