WHENEVER JALEN WILLIAMS grabs his phone, he sees a collage of Kobe Bryant photos as his lock screen.
The first tattoo the 22-year-old Oklahoma City Thunder forward ever got was a portrait of Bryant's face, steely eyed and biting down on the collar of his uniform. It covers the outside of his right leg from his ankle to just below the knee.
The Mamba merch in his personal collection includes sneakers, shirts, magazines, posters, action figures -- and blankets. Plural.
When he's not snuggling up in one of those, you can find Williams sliding on his No.