Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss had the pleasure of having a close relationship with two legendary figures in franchise history: coach Phil Jackson and the late icon Kobe Bryant.

In an Instagram post on Friday (April 24), Buss revealed a touching story of how Jackson and Bryant's coach-player relationship continued to blossom even after the 74-year-old tactician left the Lakers for good in 2011.

Per Buss, Kobe asked Phil to send him book recommendations over the last few years prior to the former's tragic passing in a helicopter crash last January. Bryant also invited his former coach to the Mamba Academy to watch Gigi and her teammates play.

Back when he was still coaching the Lakers, Jackson had a penchant for assigning his players different books that were specifically chosen for each one. Check out the nice collection below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_YkIl1p7qb/

Jeanie Buss added that Kobe Bryant always looked forward to getting a new reading material from Phil Jackson, while Shaquille O'Neal even wrote a book report once. In true “Zen Master” fashion, Jackson even summarized why he enjoys giving books to his players.

“If they take the book and put it on a shelf and it sits there for 10 years that is okay because there will come a day when he reads it and the message will be delivered. There is no time frame on teaching,” Buss wrote.

Jackson, meanwhile, won a grand total of 11 championships as a coach mainly because of his ability to get the most out of each player. Aside from pushing them physically, Phil naturally enjoys instilling an intellectual curiosity in his players.

Bryant and Jackson's relationship, on the other hand, was far from perfect over the years. Still, they managed to put their differences aside and developed a deep bond even after their professional endeavors ended. The pair won five championships together with the Lakers from 2000 to 2002 and 2009 to 2010.