Michael Jordan was the basketball superstar of the ’80s and ’90s that majority of sports fans idolized growing up. We see players in today’s NBA who were born after MJ’s 1998 championship cite him as an inspiration, and it’s because of his legendary achievements in the game. Kobe Bryant was one of many to worship MJ’s game.
By the time Kobe came into the league in 1996, he had started looking at MJ as a measuring stick and a rival, constantly striving to get as good as Jordan. He didn’t shy away from challenging the man to his face when the pair met in 1999 courtesy of Phil Jackson, as Kobe told MJ he’d beat him in a one-on-one.
“Michael’s out and has been retired for a year and he comes to a ballgame, so I said let’s meet in the chairman room after the game because I want you to talk to Kobe. He tends to take over the game and if you convince him to be patient and allow the game to come to him when it’s necessary, because the team loses it’s offensive direction… I get in the room and the first thing Kobe says ‘I will kick your ass one-on-one.’ MJ responded by saying, ‘you might, you just might. I’ve been out of the game for a couple years, you just might.”
A fan made a supercut of quotes about this incident from multiple sources, including what Kobe, MJ, and others had to say.
21-year-old Kobe Bryant told Michael Jordan in 1999 he would kick his ass one-on-one 👀 pic.twitter.com/S3lS7E934t
— Kobe Bryant Stories & Motivation (@kobehighlight) November 4, 2022
Kobe’s competitive spirit and his desire to beat the best in the sport is a quality that MJ always appreciated and loved. It’s what made Kobe so similar to Jordan and why both achieved such heights as champions of the sport.
The Bond Between Michael Jordan And Kobe Bryant
Michael Jordan wouldn’t become close to just any young player in the NBA, especially when he was in the twilight of his career. Kobe was an exception to the rule, as he pestered MJ until he got an audience with His Airness. From there, a friendship was born that would continue until Kobe’s untimely death in 2020.
Jordan gave an emotional speech at a ceremony for Kobe after the tragic helicopter crash that took his life, breaking down into tears while talking about the man he looked at as a little brother.
Kobe and MJ approached everything they did in an almost identical way, and most of it was because Kobe kept imitating his idol until he reached the same level as him, and his idol appreciated him for it.
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