Kobe Bryant spent a large part of his NBA career chasing Michael Jordan. Coming into the league when MJ was still in his prime, Bryant always wanted to surpass his idol and become the greatest ever. To this end, he worked as hard as any player in the history of the NBA, and this led him to some incredible achievements of his own, winning 5 titles, multiple Finals MVPs, as well as league MVP.
His teammates knew how Kobe felt about MJ’s legacy and how his own would stack up. Matt Barnes revealed in an interview that Kobe always wanted to match Jordan’s ring count of 6 championships because he wanted to sit at the same table as him. And even though he wasn’t able to do that, most will agree that Kobe was the closest thing to Michael Jordan the NBA has seen since the GOAT retired.
Matt Barnes Said Kobe Bryant Was Like Michael Jordan To Him Since He Never Had The Chance To Play Against MJ
To a lot of NBA players that came into the league during the early to mid-2000s, MJ was the man they had grown up idolizing. They all wanted to be like Mike, or at least get as close to it as possible. But after his third retirement following his stint with the Washington Wizards, a lot of those players never had the chance to see their hero in live action.
Speaking during an interview on Vlad TV, Matt Barnes explained that Kobe’s dedication to winning and his work ethic meant that even though he never got to play MJ, playing Kobe was essentially exactly like that.
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“His work ethic and his goal to be the greatest ever was- I never got the chance to play MJ so to me Kobe was him, but to get a chance to know him and play against him and work out with him and see the time and effort and preparation he puts into it it’s just like, damn I don’t got that kind of dedication but you’re a bad motherf***er bro.”
Kobe Bryant never quite reached the same levels that Jordan did in terms of championships and some other accolades. But his work ethic and mentality inspired the players that came after him, including legends like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Very few people would argue that the Mamba is the undisputed GOAT, but the impact he left on the NBA is second to none.
