If there was one thing that Kobe Bryant never lacked, it was confidence in his abilities. Phil Jackson revealed during the Los Angeles Lakers icon’s statue ceremony on Thursday that he once set up a meeting between Bryant and Michael Jordan, where Kobe told the Chicago Bulls icon that he would beat him 1-on-1.
“We had a little meeting in the cigar room of the bar downstairs,” Jackson said. “Michael and I were sitting there and Kobe walked in after a shower and the press whatnot. He sat down (and) he said, ‘Michael, I can take you 1-on-1.’ And Michael said, ‘Well, I think you might, I’m 37, you’re 22, right.'”
(starts at 2:44 mark):
It really isn’t all that surprising that a 22-year-old Kobe would have said that to Jordan. He was a multi-time All-Star by that age and would have backed himself to beat anybody 1-on-1.
Years later, Jordan would admit Kobe could beat him 1-on-1 in his prime, only because Bryant had stolen all of his moves. There is probably no one who studied Jordan’s game as much as Kobe did, and if the GOAT himself believes Bryant had a shot at beating him, then who are we to argue?
Phil Jackson Revealed When He Was Most Proud Of Kobe Bryant
Jackson and Bryant didn’t always have the greatest of relationships. Following their first stint together from 1999 to 2004, Jackson even released a book, The Last Season, where he was very critical of Kobe. It didn’t seem as if the relationship would ever recover after that, but their second stint together from 2005 to 2011 saw the two grow very close.
During this ceremony, Jackson shared the moment when he was most proud of Kobe, and it had nothing to do with any of his iconic feats on the court. (starts at 10:08 mark in the above video):
“Jay Leno invited the team to go on the Tonight Show and about seven or eight of them came on the Tonight Show,” Jackson stated. “Some of them were in the front, some were sitting in the back on chairs. Jay Leno was trying to make humor, he said, ‘Who’s this guy that was always in uniform or never in uniform, always dressed, is sitting behind you right there?'”
Leno was just poking fun at Adam Morrison, who had barely played for the Lakers in the 2009-10 season, and Bryant was not a fan of that.
“Kobe said, ‘Don’t make fun of Adam Morrison. He’s one of our teammates, he puts in the work. He may not get to dress, but he puts in the work, and he’s part of our team.’ And then I knew that’s when I was the proudest of Kobe,” Jackson concluded.
Bryant had built a reputation by then of not caring about his teammates and whatnot. That moment, however, showed how he had grown as a leader and a man over the years, and I’m not surprised that was the moment the 68-year-old was most proud of Kobe for.
In all their partnership yielded five NBA championships, and it also saw Bryant win his only MVP in 2008. There is no doubt that Kobe would have gone on to have a phenomenal career no matter who he played under, but I’m not sure he would have had the same level of team success if not for Jackson.
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