Michael Jordan saw his successor only in Kobe Bryant because of the efforts The Black Mamba put in to be like Mike.
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The NBA had never seen a player with more religious work ethic than Michael Jordan when he first came into the league in 1984. But it all started way before that.
The legendary UNC head coach Dean Smith said in an interview that was also featured in The Last Dance docuseries that Jordan was “inconsistent as a freshman,” but his work ethic still stood out.
“He was one of the most competitive, we ever had in our drills,” Smith said. “He wanted to get better, and then he had the ability to get better.”
Dean’s then assistant Roy Williams also said something similar, remembering what MJ said to him when he doubted his promise to work better. “‘I’m going to show you. Nobody will ever work as hard as I work,’” Williams told what Mike said to him.
And literally, no one in the history of the NBA, or 12 years after Jordan came into the league, worked as much as “His Airness”. But then, in 1996, an 18-year-old kid who idolized Mike came into the league.
Michael Jordan only shared “information” with Kobe Bryant
Like most other kids of that era, Kobe Bryant grew up watching MJ do unbelievable things against the game’s very best and must have decided to follow him up in whatever he did.
By the time he became a starter and an upcoming star in the league with the Lakers, Jordan had won 6 championships and had retired from the game for the second time in 1998. But Bryant was still obsessed with his idol, and so he used to ask him for some advice.
By his nature, the Bulls legend never seriously gave any major tips or insides of his technique or gameplay to any other player, but it might have changed when he saw The Black Mamba’s work ethic.
That information surely was of use for Bryant who was later not only copying most of MJ’s moves, he was taking them to perfection by working even harder each day, every day.
In his 20-year career, the Lakers legend won 5 championships, made 18 All-Star appearances, crossed MJ on the All-time scoring list and left an impeccable resume and a legacy to be remembered forever, both on and off the court.
There are several stories from players of different eras coming in for training a couple of hours early before a 6 or 7 a.m. training just to see that Kobe has already been working there for an hour or two, drenched in sweat. That’s what Jordan liked in him. The Insanity, the obsession.
