Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant played in different decades. However, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that both the legends of the game were quite similar. And that was because Kobe absolutely worshiped Michael Jordan. Kobe grew up watching Jordan play extraordinarily well for the Bulls and, no exaggeration, Michael still was in his prime when Kobe started playing in the NBA.
Kobe played his first game in 1996 and Jordan was yet to win the second three-peat of his career. He always held Jordan in the highest of regards. And rightfully so, Jordan returned the favor. The two were friends who respected and admired each other.
But even then, Kobe never as such liked the comparisons between the two. In fact, once, he commented on how he feels about the superlatives used about MJ and in the process said something which humbled the American rapper Kendrick Lamar.
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Kobe was asked if there was someone Kendrick Lamar reminded him of from the court. To that, he was quick to answer, “Yeah it was me. It’s the same hunger. When you step out there on the court, you’re taking heads off. I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to hear Michael is the best player in the world. I don’t want to hear they call him black Jesus, I don’t wanna hear that. You have to show me.”
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That’s just another example of Kobe’s Mamba mentality. No matter how much he admired and got inspired by Jordan, once he stepped on the court, the game in hand was the only thing on his mind. And winning it for his team was his only aim.
Kobe Bryant and his admiration for Michael Jordan
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It is no secret that MJ was a big influence over Kobe and his career. But still, Kobe was his own man. He had his own style of play. His mentality was surely driven and inspired by Michael, but there was much more to Kobe than just a guy inspired by Jordan. Kobe was someone who went on to inspire so many people himself.
Michael Jordan, when he retired for the second time in 1999, helped Kobe understand the tactics and ways of Phil Jackson, who was just starting to head coach the Lakers. Certainly, that helped him and the Lakers and they went on to win the three-peat.
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WATCH THIS STORY: 5 times Kobe copied Michael Jordan’s style.
Kobe was a different breed altogether. He might have had some similarities to his idol, but his Mamba mentality was something that separated him from the best of the best. A true legend and surely, by far, one of the greatest players to ever play the game, that was Kobe Bryant in a nutshell.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Essentially Sports
