Back on Wednesday night, Los Angeles Lakers' rising star forward Brandon Ingram showed NBA fans why he was selected with the second overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

In a heart-breaking 127-123 overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center, Ingram had easily his best game as an NBA player as he went off for a career-high 32 points (12-of-21 shooting from the field) to go along with five rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocked shots.

According to Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports, Ingram accredits his growth as a player in part to conversations he has had with Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who went out to dinner with rookie Kyle Kuzma last month.

“No dinner, but we’ve connected on the phone a couple of times, where I’ve asked him about film,” Ingram said. “I called him before the OKC game last year (on Feb. 24), and that’s when the change of Magic and all the little stuff with (former general manager) Mitch Kupchak happened.”

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Brandon Ingram said that he and Bryant talked a lot about defense and how to effectively watch game film.

“I wanted to know about (Thunder point guard) Russell Westbrook, wanted to know how (Bryant) watched film and how I could affect the game. The first thing he said to me was defense. He didn’t even say anything about offense. He said defense, and Magic had told me the day before about how I could use my length to get to the basket, so I just put those two together. And I think after that OKC game, it changed my whole season around last year.”

In 21 games this season, Ingram is currently averaging 15.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game in 33.8 minutes of action per contest for the Lakers.