LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls (L) eyes the basket as he is guarded by Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers during their 01 February game in Los Angeles, CA. Jordan will appear in his 12th NBA All-Star game 08 February while Bryant will make his first All-Star appearance. The Lakers won the game 112-87. AFP PHOTO/Vince BUCCI (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty Images)
CHICAGO – The video scoreboard pinpointed a moment that Kobe Bryant remembered vividly 20 years later.
On Dec. 17, 1996, Bryant squared off against Michael Jordan for the first time in his life. But despite spending a childhood studying Jordan “exclusively”, Bryant could not prepare for the first in-person interaction. Then, Jordan drove past Bryant baseline for a dunk.
“That was the coolest thing. I have seen that spin move so many times,” Bryant said before the Lakers played the Bulls on Sunday in what marked his final game at United Center. “I knew he was going to do it. But the timing on TV and in person are two completely different things. He spun right before I thought he was going to spin. I thought that was pretty cool.”
Jordan led the Bulls to victory that night with 30 points on a 10-of-32 clip, while an 18-year-old Bryant had five points on 2-of-5 shooting. But Bryant turned out quite all right after winning five NBA championships, even if it trailed Jordan’s six rings.
“Six doesn’t seem like it’s in the cards. But I’m okay with that because as a player, you want to try to do everything you can with what you have and leave no stone unturned,” Bryant said. “If you’ve looked at yourself in the mirror and honestly understand that you’ve done that, I’m more than happy.”
After all, the Bulls unveiled a video tribute that praised Bryant for his numerous accolades, including surpassing Jordan last season for third place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Former Lakers teammate and Bulls forward Pau Gasol called Bryant as “one of the all-time greats.” Bulls guard Derrick Rose also described Bryant as “our generation of Michael Jordan.”
“Our competitiveness is second to none,” Bryant said. “We’re pretty obsessive on how to get an edge and how to compete with people to the point where if I said hi to a player, he was looking at me sideways and wondering what is he up to? It’s that attention to detail and competitive spirit that makes that connection. Not too many players are as maniacal as we’ve been.”
Bryant soon discovered Jordan had other qualities that could help him.
“He is extremely open to having that relationship and mentor relationship and given a great amount of advice and amazing amount of detail and strategies and workout regimens and things like that,” Bryant said. “I don’t think people understand the amount of impact he’s had on me as a player and as a leader.”
Bryant also initially thought a reporter misunderstood his connection with Jordan partly dissuaded him from joining the Bulls both as a free agent in 2004 and when he requested a trade in 2007.
“Do I seem like the type to cower to something like that?” Bryant said. “Come on. No.”
The reporter later explained to Bryant he had tried asking him something completely different. Because of Bryant sharing Jordan’s competitiveness, the reporter wondered if Bryant thought the idea of following Jordan’s shadow intrigued him. Moments earlier, Bryant suggested that was the case.
“It wasn’t a pressure situation to live up to what he’s done,” Bryant said. “It was more like I can carry on his legacy and do it justice and represent Chicago the way that it should be represented in his honor. It’s a tremendous amount of influence.”
Hence, Bryant said it was “very much” a possibility he would join the Bulls. So much that Bryant reported he and his wife, Vanessa, traveled to Chicago to look at different homes and schools. But Bryant said Shaquille O’Neal’s public trade demand in the 2004 offseason complicated variables.
“There’s no way they’re going to trade me anywhere,” Bryant said of the Lakers. “The sign-and-trade option went off the table.”
Bryant then resigned with the Lakers. Despite his trade demands in 2007, the Lakers softened Bryant’s frustrations after acquiring Gasol from Memphis on Feb. 1, 2008. The Lakers then won two NBA titles out of three Finals appearances.
“I had the privilege of playing with him in moments that were truly unforgettable,” Gasol said of Bryant in the video tribute. “The level of commitment and sacrifice he puts in the game to be who he is doesn’t really happen by accident.”
That’s partly because Bryant had a certain idol named Jordan to emulate.
“No words can do it justice,” Bryant said of Jordan’s influence.
But others tried anyway.
“You look at a picture of MJ and you look at a picture of Kobe, it’s eerie how similar it is,” said Lakers coach Byron Scott, who played against Jordan during the Showtime Era. “Not only from a basketball standpoint but he way he thinks abut the game and the way he approaches the game. I haven’t seen anyone since MJ take on that type of feeling in the game as Kobe has. He’s as close as he can come.”
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