LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was compared to the great Michael Jordan almost throughout his career. However, back when he was asked about the comparisons by Stephen A. Smith, Kobe had a simple response. According to Mamba Insider, Bryant claimed that while MJ was the greatest, he was simply focused on being the best version of himself.
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Kobe Bryant looked up to MJ right from the start of his career. He looked up to the Chicago Bulls’ legend as a big brother and was obviously honored to be compared with the GOAT. Bryant saw MJ as the benchmark but knew that all he could do was be the best version of himself.
Stephen A. Smith once asked Kobe Bryant about comparisons with Michael Jordan
There are not a lot of players who are compared to Michael Jordan, widely seen to be the GOAT of the NBA. Smith and Bryant both saw Jordan as the greatest ever and were involved in an interesting conversation.
The moment Smith brought up the comparisons that had been going on for years, Kobe asked him to stop. He explained that while he wanted to be compared to MJ, the two were vastly different players. Smith initially claimed that Bryant should not be “mad” at the question:
“Come on, why? Let it go, leave it alone. I am not mad at it. He is the greatest to ever play the game. Just let me do me. Just let me do me. Yeah, I wanna be compared with Michael Jordan. I got to be the best I can be. Michael is Michael. You know, we are different people.”
Throwback to when Kobe was asked about being the GOAT 👀🐐 pic.twitter.com/yucIjr5hRx
— Mamba Insider (@Mamba_Insider) August 16, 2023
Smith also wanted to know whether Bryant wanted to be the “greatest as well.” Kobe responded with a claim that he had made multiple times throughout his career. While he wanted to be the greatest, he knew that all he could do was become the best version of himself, rather than focus on the comparisons.
Kobe Bryant admitted to copying Michael Jordan’s moves
Kobe saw MJ as his idol and even admitted to having copied his technique and moves. Speaking to Bleacher Report, Bryant talked about a particular move that he was inspired to mimic, according to Silver Screen & Roll.
Bryant claimed that he saw the stop-pivot-turn-fade being used by MJ. He ended up developing the move in his game and regularly used it.
What’s more, Bryant went on to reveal that he almost copied 100% percent of MJ’s technique while growing up. Hence, the similarity between the two players was not merely a matter of coincidence. It was also a result of Bryant modeling his game after the Bulls legend as a youngster.
