As one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history, Kobe Bean Bryant was a truly remarkable individual. On the court, he accomplished a ton, retiring as an 18x All-Star, 15x All-NBA player, and 5x champion.
To this day, he remains a fan-favorite among the NBA community, and many of the game’s top performers once looked up to the Lakers legend.
Among them is Jayson Tatum, who is noted to have had a special bond with no. 24. As his favorite player growing up, Tatum has made his admiration for Bryant well-known since arriving in the league.
Jayson Tatum Makes Surprising Pick Between Two NBA Legends
So when asked to pick between Kobe and former Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan, everybody was expecting him to pick Bryant. Instead, he went with Jordan in a move that shocked everyone.
As much as Tatum loved Bryant, he also had an appreciation for MJ as well, which came out in full force when he met the 6x champion for the first time.
“I got a funny story. We was in Paris and I met MJ earlier this morning,” admitted Tatum in the telling of a story. “It’s an introduction (to the Jordan brand) and I did a bunch of media. And then that night we had a dinner. So it was like, Melo was there, Blake was there, Russ, Spike Lee, everybody was there. I remember, I walk in and I’m still nervous. MJ’s sitting down, his wife next to him, and Spike next to her. So I walk in and I’m like I’m gonna say what’s up to him before I sit down. So I’m like, I talked to him earlier, like we had a whole conversation, like I kind of knew him. But then I walk over to him and like my hand starts sweating. And I was like, ‘What’s up Mike?’ And when I went to go shake his hand, I knocked over his wine glass on the table and it broke. And I was like, ‘Oh let me get a napkin, let me help you out’. He was like, ‘Young fella, it’s cool, it’s good, you all right’. I turned throughout like, ‘Yo, I’m tripping.’”
Jordan wasn’t perfect by any stretch, but there were very few holes in his game. As an unstoppable scorer, elite defender, and unquestioned leader, he had everything in his bag.
Kobe was similar in a lot of ways but didn’t have quite the same degree of success as his Bulls counterpart did years before him.
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