“Michael Jordan’s an old guy now, but I still want to play him!”: When a high school Kobe Bryant expressed his appreciation for the Bulls legend

When Lakers legend Kobe Bryant hilariously roasted Michael Jordan before expressing his admiration for him

 

The late great Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba himself.

Anyone that has even watched just the highlights of the Lakers legend, knows that he modeled his game after Michael Jordan. As The Ringer’s J. Kyle Mann once said, everybody wanted to be like Mike, and Kobe got the closest.

But, when we talk about the legacy of Mr. Bean, we often think about the seasoned NBA vet that had his colleagues waking up in a cold sweat on the day of their game against him. But what about the younger, more exuberant version of him that we don’t often talk about.

Let’s take a looksie back to a slighter older chapter in the life of Kobe Bryant.

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“He’s an old guy”: Kobe Bryant wanted to play Michael Jordan at least once prior to his NBA career

Kobe Bryant’s game may have been copied from Michael Jordan. However, his relentless mentality is, at least largely, his own. We will say though, His Airness was once again a massive inspiration.

It was this very same mentality that made him want to go up against just about anyone and try to compete with them. And well, while he was still in High School, it seems Michael Jordan was no exception.

“He’s an old guy! Nah but, that’d be something I’d love to do because I watched him growing up. I’d (also) love to play against Magic Johnson, but he’s retired. And Michael Jordan is someone I’ve always looked up to, man and I want to play against him.”

Kobe Bryant baseline fadeaways. pic.twitter.com/cDEN55f18O

— ⁸ ²⁴ (@BeansGoated) September 25, 2021

In case you didn’t know already, Kobe did indeed get that matchup with Mike he so desperately wanted. And they were ones that no NBA fan would ever forget.

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