Kobe Bryant emulated Michael Jordan in pretty much every sense of the word, but the late Los Angeles Lakers superstar did not have the same love as MJ did towards golf.
And he revealed why he never played the sport with the Chicago Bulls legend. Speaking to Jim Gray in a 2016 interview, he explained why:
“Michael and I had this conversation recently. He said, ‘Now that you are retiring, now you can come out with me and play golf.’ I said no. He said, ‘You going to have to play golf.’ I said, ‘Not with you, though. You have been playing since college. You want to get out there and just kill me.’ I’m not a golfer, and I’m not going to play. I’m a realist.”
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It’s not surprising that Kobe did not want to compete in golf, given his competitive nature. He knew all too well that Jordan was a scratch golfer, and he did not want to be in a place where a loss was the most possible outcome.
That said, Jordan offering Kobe the chance to play golf with him shows the level of respect he had for a player who was years younger than him. He admired the five-time NBA champion’s work ethic as it was pretty much a reflection of a younger MJ himself.
Phil Jackson Explained Why Kobe Bryant Was A Better All-Round Player Than Michael Jordan
Phil Jackson was one of the few who has the distinction of watching Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant at close quarters, and he explained why the latter was a better all-round player than Jordan.
“Kobe’s become the floor leader of a basketball team that was kind of looking for that nature of a player, who could not only be a scorer but also be a playmaker or consistently make big plays at critical times,” Jackson told ESPN.
Asked about where that leaves Michael Jordan, Jackson added, “I never asked Michael to be a playmaker,” Jackson said. “That’s the greatest player that I’ve ever had, that I could consider the greatest player in the game, and I never asked him to be a playmaker in those terms.”
In terms of playmaking, Kobe was a more willing passer compared to Jordan at the initial stages of his career, and that perhaps prompted the legendary coach to make the statement.
Quite simply, both players despite their differences in style of play, were absolute legends on the floor. And as for golf. ‘His Airness’ surely takes the vote as the better player.
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