“Michael Jordan was the greatest sports figure for me, but Kobe Bryant became second”: Brandon Roy reminisces about the impact of the Lakers legend on basketball on Michael Porter Jr’s Curious Mike Podcast

Brandon Roy is from a generation of players who grew up watching both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. He shone a light on how he and other players from his generation looked at the Black Mamba.

It is hard to explain the feeling of how Kobe Bryant caught the public’s imagination in his initial years. We’re over 25 years removed from his draft night now. It’s been nearly 2 decades since LA went back-to-back-to-back at the peak of Kobe-Shaq fever.

This feeling is best preserved in the minds of the players born in the 80s, and who entered the league in the mid- and late-2000s. Kevin Durant is among those who’ve always given the ultimate adulation to both shooting guard legends.

Brandon Roy is a player from the same generation, and he’s the one that the public anointed as the successor to Kobe Bryant’s throne at some point. Unfortunately for him and for basketball, Roy suffered a series of injuries that eventually put an end to his pro career.

The former Blazers guard, however, is a unique player who highlights the evolution of NBA guards in the 00s. His unique perspective is something that many NBA fans have wanted to take for years.

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Michael Porter Jr has made that possible through his new podcast show called Curious Mike.

“Michael Jordan was the greatest sports figure for me, but Kobe Bryant became second”: Brandon Roy

The 2-time All-NBA selection was a guest on Curious Mike this past week. He shed a lot of light on his journey through basketball. And given that he’s a guard from the noughties, Kobe Bryant was a topic sure to pop – as was Michael Jordan.

Roy gave his props to both thus:

“With Kobe, I always felt Michael Jordan is my favorite sports figure, greatest athlete ever. But what was really cool about Kobe was, you know, he eventually became my second.”

“Because, you know, I got introduced to basketball, I was like ‘Jordan!’ – he’s at the top. But when Kobe came into the league in 96, I’m like ‘Damn, he plays like Jordan, but he’s young.’ And he’s kinda like cool, and more fit, and in the age group and popularity of what we wanted to do things like.”

“He had the baby ‘fro, so I got the baby ‘fro now. So it was like Jordan was the guy I idolized and then moved into Kobe. But it was cool because I always tried to play like Jordan. My footwork, pump fakes, fadeaways, and Kobe was doing it too.”

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