When it comes to former Los Angeles Lakers head coach and current Golden State Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown, he has the utmost respect for Los Angeles Lakers legendary shooting guard Kobe Bryant. Both of the future Hall of Famer's No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys will be retired to the Staples Center rafters on Monday night when the Lakers host the Warriors on Monday night.

According to Warriors writer Mark Medina of The Mercury News, coach Brown opened up about his experience with Bryant in an interview with Bay Area News Group.

“I just coached him. If I wanted to say something to him, I said something to him about anything. If he wanted to say something to me, he’d say something to me about anything,” Brown said. “Now we got into it a couple of times. But it’s hard to be in this business and not get into it a time or two with any of your players.”

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Brown, who was the head coach of the Lakers during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season and then fired just five games into the 2012-13 campaign, spoke very highly of the 20-year veteran.

“I enjoyed coaching Kobe because you always know where you stand,” Brown said. “He’s a lone wolf. I never had to worry about hearing information from an agent or a buddy or a family member like that. If he didn’t like what was going on, he was going to look you in the eye and tell you. If he liked what was going on, he was going to look you in the eye and tell you. When it ever came to any dealings that I had or thoughts that I had with him, it was always just he and I. For me personally, I appreciated that.”

Bryant, who was the 2007-08 NBA Most Valuable Player, was a five-time champion with the Lakers and averaged 25 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists throughout his legendary career.