By: Debadrita Ghosh Image credit: NBA and Twitter.
The five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant was one of the most ferocious competitors in basketball history. He always aspired to be the best and was always eager to understand what the best players do.
Kobe Bryant was drafted in 1996 and entered the league at a time when Michael Jordan dominated. While the rest of the league was afraid of the Bulls' superstar, Kobe was enthralled by him.
Once Kobe was asked whether he thinks of himself as the GOAT ahead of Michael Jordan. He replied:" I will never say I am better than Michael. In all honesty, he taught me so many things, by observation, and also through conversation."
He further added: "It's a bit of an unbalanced comparison too because when he came to Chicago, he was able to do things individually that I didn't have the freedom to do, coming to Los Angeles."
As a high school kid, Kobe once asked the players in the locker room to tell him about Michael Jordan. The other person referred to Jordan as "Mike" which surprised many Sixers players. He even called Jordan 'Black Jesus' or 'Black Cat' which completely surprised Kobe.
Kobe continued: "I came in playing a support role for Shaquille, which was very hard for my personality to do. That would be like asking Michael to do the same thing. Our careers tracked on different paths, but I would never ever say that, just because I learned so much from him."
Michael Jordan has always been an inspiration for Kobe Bryant. From basketball moves to things about life, he had learned a lot from the legend. Even Jordan once said that Kobe was the only player who can be compared to him.
Kobe always aspired to be like Jordan, beat him, and win the title of the best player. But despite Kobe's fantastic career, it is humble to note that Kobe had never put himself ahead of the man.
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