When Michael Jordan Showed Kobe Bryant Who Is The Boss
"At times, I thought, 'Why am I giving away all this information that he’s going to use right against me?'" Jordan told The Ringer's Jackie MacMullan. "No matter how I’d start the conversation, he knew the answer. It wasn’t like I was telling him anything that he didn’t know. I think I was more or less confirming it."
Jordan knew he was becoming a mentor to Bryant but also knew that meant the competitive young star would go after him. He even talked some trash about "that little Laker boy" before the game.
"He was going to come after me. And I told everybody, I said, ‘Look, I know this young kid is going to come at me from L.A., he’s gonna come at me—and I’m not going to hold back," Jordan said. "So in that sense, I feel like I got to protect something. Sure enough, in the game, it was that competition. It was almost like looking in a mirror, in a sense, that, you know—why would I want to play anything less? Why would I want to play anyone less? I want to go at someone who I feel like I respect and I want to challenge."
Jordan hit a pair of early shots to send a message that he wasn't playing around.
Jordan hit two turnarounds and Kobe said let’s get it on, per Sports Illustrated. Bryant responded by helping force a turnover with his defense on MJ, then throwing down a 360 dunk in transition.
It was fun, according to Jordan. He was trying hard to fend him off as much as he could. Even though Kobe came at him pretty early. Jordan also mentioned how he liked Kobe attitude saying, if he saw someone who was sick, he’d have attacked too.
Kobe gave it his all, but he wasn't quite ready to surpass his mentor.
Still, this game made Kobe Bryant a household name in the NBA. He would remain so for decades. For the rest of his Hall of Fame career, Bryant continued to idolize Jordan and emulate his work ethic and competitive spirit. He even perfected the turnaround jumper, a move Jordan jokingly says he regrets teaching him.
READ MORE: Kobe Bryant Once Accused Shaquille O’Neal of Spending USD 1 Million in Hush Money to Silence Women
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