Kobe Bryant craves any edge he can have against an opponent, let alone against his idol, Michael Jordan.
So when a a teammate asked him if he would like any feedback on how to match up him shortly before they first squared off nearly 19 years ago, well Bryant was all ears.
“Whatever you do,” the unnamed teammate advised, “don’t look him in the eye.”
To which Bryant responded, “Why in the hell would I NOT look him in the eye?”
Bryant shared that story as part of a preview for his MUSE set to air on Showtime on Feb. 28, presumably one of many insights Bryant provides on his career, let alone his connection to Jordan. Before he surpassed Jordan for third place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, Bryant stressed that the similarities went beyond the points they scored or the championships they collected.
It’s that Bryant and Jordan played against each other with the same ruthlessness that they would against anyone else.
“When I first came into the league, Michael was terrifying everybody,” Bryant said. “I was willing to challenge and learn from him. I wasn’t afraid to call him and ask him questions. He was open and spoke to me a lot and helped me a lot.”
All of which happened because Bryant remained intent on looking at Jordan in the eye.
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