It all started with Kobe Bryant idolizing Michael Jordan since he first saw him play as a 13-year-old and they ended up being the best of friends.
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Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are two of the best players ever in the history of the NBA. Both of them by some conspiracy of nature stood at the same height, weighed almost the same, and almost had the same games. The last part was all Kobe, no nature.
Although they were drafted 12-years apart both the shooting guards became great friends when Bryant dared to reach out to the man who never came off very friendly in nature. Jordan was going to be in consideration as the greatest basketball player of all time when he came back to the NBA and won the title in 1996 when Kobe was drafted.
The future Lakers legend was never shy to approach the biggest name in sports at the moment. In only his sophomore year in the NBA, he hit Jordan with direct questions on the court in Chicago, asking the GOAT about his fade-away jumpers and his post moves.
“Talked a little bit about the game. I do that often, though. My conversations with Michael get the most attention, but I do that often. I used to ask Clyde a lot of questions; I asked Stockton a lot of questions. You grow up watching these guys and seeing them do what they’re doing, and you want to know how they do what they do and why they do what they do. I wasn’t too proud to ask.” Bryant said after talking to his idol.
The future 5x Champion with the Lakers didn’t take much time in replicating those moves, looking almost like another Mike on the court.
Michael Jordan first regretted but then appreciated that Kobe Bryant emulated his signature turn-around Fadeaways.
The duo’s friendship never came to much light, at least not before the tragic demise of Kobe. Since then, Michael has openly talked about the relationship they had to give people more insight into The Black Mamba’s personality.
“I would lay in my bed after talking to him and say, ‘Man, man, I mean, that’s pretty cool.’ But yet, I don’t know if I could have ever done that where I’m bleeding information from someone. At times, I thought, ‘Why am I giving away all this information that he’s going to use right against me?’ No matter how I’d start the conversation, he knew the answer. It wasn’t like I was telling him anything that he didn’t know. I think I was more or less confirming it.” Jordan said.
He then says, “The one thing that I did give him that I felt like I regretted—but then again, I appreciated—was his turnaround fadeaway. He learned my move. He learned that to a point where he would use it—relentlessly, especially when you know you’re getting double-teamed. … I took great pride in seeing him utilize that, even though he didn’t do it against me that much.”
It was no accident that Kobe inherited all of Jordan’s traits because he became what he worshiped. The man had an even better mentality, if not equal to Jordan’s. And so replicating some of his shots wouldn’t be the spot where Kobe stopped.
Although he couldn’t beat or equal Jordan’s 6 championships, he did score over 1300 points, 600 assists, and 300 rebounds more than MJ winning 5 championships, 2x Finals MVP, 18x All-Star appearances, 15x All-NBA teams, 12x All-Defensive NBA teams, and an MVP in his 20-years in the league. And that fade-away jumper was crucial in achieving all of that.
