“Clearly Wanted to be Michael Jordan”: Rookie Kobe Bryant Mimicking MJ’s Personality was Found Odd by Lakers Teammates

As many already know, Kobe Bryant considered Michael Jordan his basketball idol growing up in Italy as an NBA kid. The future Lakers star was obsessed enough to incorporate every minute detail of Jordan into his own life from an early age. When Kobe joined the Lakers in 1996, many of his then teammates noticed that the budding star often licked his lips, shrugged his shoulders, and even patterned his speech like Jordan.

Jeff Pearlman’s book Three-Ring Circus particularly noted how Kobe used to watch VHS tapes of Jordan’s games religiously while growing up in Italy. Former Laker Nick Van Exel also affirmed this statement and claimed that Bryant borrowed VHS tapes from him to watch Jordan’s highlights exclusively to mimic the 6x Champion’s mannerisms. In fact, Van Exel later revealed that he never received those tapes back from Kobe.

Another account from former Laker Travis Knight also described the level of obsession Bryant had in becoming like Michael Jordan. Noted by Jeff Pearlman in his book, Knight once remarked, “He [Kobe Bryant] clearly wanted to be Michael Jordan at the beginning, in every imaginable way.” Sure enough, Kobe’s joy knew no bounds when he faced Jordan for the first time in the league and the latter proudly referred to him as a younger brother and became a mentor figure for the young star.

While facing Bryant, Michael Jordan saw a lot of himself in young Kobe, for obvious reasons. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why the two legends bonded really well and eventually build a lasting, family-like relationship. During Bryant’s obituary, Jordan revealed that the two would remain connected via text messages, with Bryant often hitting up Jordan to seek advice on family, his tequila business, and improving his game.

After his retirement, Kobe assumed the role of a de facto coach for his daughter Gigi’s basketball team. One of Bryant’s last texts to Jordan was, “Hey coach, I’m sitting on the bench right now, and we’re blowing this team out. 45-8.” 

Jordan was particularly impressed with Kobe’s joy in coaching his daughter’s team, which showed the Mamba’s passion for the game. To this day, Jordan cherishes the last text message from Kobe, which reflects how he always maintained his competitive nature in all spheres of life.

Kobe Bryant tried emulating Jordan in every way possible.

Kobe Bryant tried emulating Jordan in every possible manner in every aspect of his life. From winning accolades to incorporating his mannerisms, Bryant was obsessive about Jordan in a way that might even seem quite eerie to many people. However, this obsession helped the Lakers legend achieve feats similar to the Chicago Bulls legend.

The Lakers became the only team in recent history to win a three-peat after the Bulls’ iconic two three-peat runs in the ’90s. Watch how Kobe Bryant tried emulating Jordan by wearing his jersey and holding a cigar while celebrating his three-peat run with the Lakers.

@thejordanrules45 Kobe and Shaq, Kobe wearing and paying homage wearing Jordan Jersey #NBA #BullsNation #MambaForever #airjordan #chicagobulls #michaeljordan #kobebryant #lakers ♬ original sound – The Jordan Rules

It wasn’t like Jordan never noticed Bryant emulating him and mimicking his moves on the court. In 2013, MJ claimed that Bryant would be the only player who could beat him in a one-on-one situation as he had stolen every move from Jordan’s bag with his obsession.

Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan constitute the fourth and fifth-highest scorers in the league’s history. Both were fierce competitors during their careers, with Jordan leading the Bulls to six NBA championships and Bryant leading LA to five.