After a brief stint playing overseas after he graduated from Utah, Bryant went back to Salt Lake City to launch the Bryant Sports Academy in 2009. Former Jazz player Ronnie Price was his first NBA client. Bryant would take on Paul Millsap and Tyrell Corbin (then-Jazz head coach Ty Corbin’s son) as clients, which would end up becoming Bryant’s path into the league.
Jazz general manager at the time, Dennis Lindsey, attended one of Millsap’s workouts with Bryant in 2012, and a short time later Bryant was offered a job as a player development assistant.
As a member of the Jazz organization, Bryant worked closely with Price and Millsap. He is credited with helping elevate the play of Gordon Hayward and Donovan Mitchell to star-caliber players, with both ascending to the team’s top scoring option.
Another Utah success that hits closer to home was his work with former Knick Alec Burks.
When Bryant first joined the Jazz he used a
hands-on approach to help Burks improve his driving skills on and off the court. On the court, Bryant used boat paddles, sparring mitts, and lord knows what else, to knock Burks off his path to the basket. Off the court, he took time to learn Burks the player through fil, and Burks the person through spending time with him and his family.
“He gets to know your game, gets to know you as a person,” Burks told the
Daily News following Bryant’s hire. “I think that makes it easier on the court when he gets to know you off the court. He’s big on that. He knows his basketball. He studied the game. He studied your film, know you individually, know what you got going and just preaches what he knows and gets you better through that.”
The work paid off as Burks doubled his points per game average by Bryant’s second season with the team. Ironically, Burks played an integral role in the Knicks’ playoff season in he and Bryant’s first season in New York.
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