There is no denying how close a relationship Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant had with each other. Kobe and Jordan were in the league together for a very short period of time; only 4 seasons in 7 years. But the two forged a close bond because Bryant wanted to learn from the very best, and the player whom he idolized; Michael Jordan. But their relationship wasn’t always strong from the get-go.
In a recent podcast snippet from Jackie MacMullan’s ‘Icons Club’, she aired an interview she had with Jordan from years ago, where he noted that initially, Kobe Bryant would constantly pester him. But over time, Michael Jordan began to respect Kobe’s relentless approach and noted that he would do the same thing if he were in the position that Kobe was in (4:45 onwards).
“At first he was an irritant. But then secondly it became, it’s a sense of respect. I respect him for that. To me, I’d probably do the same thing.”
Jordan and Kobe grew very close, and the two considered each other friends, if not brothers. After Kobe’s tragic passing in 2020, Michael Jordan tearfully spoke at his memorial, noting how Kobe Bryant and he became friends, and how close the two got over the years.
Jordan was very affected by the passing of Kobe. He was struggling to speak without getting emotional at the memorial service. And in an interview conducted last year with MacMullan, Jordan noted that he just can’t seem to bring himself to delete the final text messages he and Kobe Bryant shared with each other.
There is no way one can look at Kobe’s game on the court and not see the influence Jordan had on him. The two players were seemingly identical, not just in their style, but in their mentality and approach to the game. Kobe and Jordan were students of the game and cut from the same cloth. And a large part of why they were so similar is because of their relationship, and the respect and admiration Kobe held for MJ.
