“Not Since 1999”: 34 Y/o Kobe Bryant Claimed Michael Jordan Highlights Weren’t Something He’d Watched In 14 Years

Kobe Bryant was among the millions of kids from around the globe who wanted to be like Michael Jordan. Idolizing Jordan, Bryant would closely study the Chicago Bulls legend’s game. Trying to emulate every aspect of MJ’s on-court behavior, the Black Mamba would watch hours of tape. However, as a 34-year-old in the league, the Los Angeles Lakers star revealed that this obsession had stopped, and he hasn’t watched that in 14 years.

Apart from having identical intangible traits, Kobe Bryant copied Michael Jordan’s mannerisms as well as style of play. In fact, Bryant was often referred to as MJ 2.0. During the promotion of NBA 2K, the former UNC Tar Heel even mocked Kobe for “stealing his moves.”

Kobe Bryant discontinued watching Michael Jordan tapes in 1999

During an interview with Sports Illustrated in 2013, for the special edition of Michael Jordan’s 50th birthday, Kobe spoke about his obsession with watching tapes of his idol. During his formative years as a true student of the game, Bryant would analyze and break down every aspect of MJ’s style of play. However, watching MJ films became a practice that ended during the third campaign of Kobe’s professional career.

Kobe Bryant, the Lakers star who, as a younger player, patterned himself after Jordan, was asked when he last viewed a tape of MJ in action. “Wow, it’s been a while,” he said. “Probably not since 1999. I used to watch a bunch, but that was a long time ago.”

Standing at 6ft 6” and weighing around the 200-pound mark, the similarities between the two Shooting Guards were uncanny. Modeling his style of play after Michael Jordan’s, Kobe had an identical fadeaway jumper, footwork, and finishing around the rim. Intangibles such as having the drive to be the best and a winning mentality were also some common traits between the two.

By the time he featured in this interview during the 2012-2013 season, Kobe had already established himself as one of the all-time greats. Collecting some of the highest laurels – five titles, two Finals MVPs, one MVP, and two scoring titles, a 34-year-old Bryant was already one of the most distinguished players in the modern NBA.

Kobe didn’t mind being as accomplished as Jordan

While Bryant was the closest thing to Michael Jordan, he was unable to replicate the success that His Airness witnessed. Mike won one more title, 5 more Finals MVPs, and 4 more MVPs than his mentee.

“No. I did everything I possibly could. It sounds crazy to say I won five championships and come up one short. But honestly I’m okay with that. It just wasn’t in the cards for me to get six or seven. I did everything possible to try to make it happen, and I can live with that any day,” Kobe said.

However, not being as accomplished as Air Jordan didn’t bother Kobe Bryant too much. In fact, as seen in the excerpt above, Kobe was more than content with the five Championships he did manage to win.