Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are two of the biggest stars in the world of basketball. They had a great relationship and were seen hanging out multiple times. Bryant once revealed a conversation that featured an epic reply to Jordan’s fierce competitiveness.
Kobe made a name for himself very quickly after joining the league, differentiating himself from the rest and climbing to success. He changed his jersey number mid-career, and Kevin Garnett revealed the reason behind it.
Kobe Bryant revealed dinner-time conversation with Michael Jordan
Kobe Bryant once appeared on a talk show and discussed his last dinner with Michael Jordan, also known as His Airness. The host of the talk show asked Kobe about Jordan’s competitive nature, to which the Black Mamba narrated an incident from their final dinner together.
“Last time we had dinner, he was talking about, ‘My year in 1991… vs your peak year… I would have kicked your a**.’ I said, ‘Mike come on now, enjoy the salad, we all know that would have happened.'”
Kobe explained how MJ was unable to contain his competitive drive and claimed that he would have beaten Bryant in his prime. The mamba chuckled at this comment from his Airness and shrugged him off.
Kobe also revealed that MJ was the one who used to always grab the check at their dinners. Kobe used to think of Jordan as his big brother and a great mentor who helped him a lot to become the player he was. Recently his wife Vanessa Bryant revealed her plans of immortalising her late husband.
Kobe switching to No.24 had a MJ-related motivation
Kobe Bryant started his career wearing the number 8; however, as time went by, he switched his jersey number to 24, which became iconic and synonymous with his name. When asked why he changed his number and what it meant, Kobe said that it symbolized his growth as a player. He emphasized that while his physical abilities might not have been the same as before, his mental strength had grown far more.
However, Kobe’s frenemy and NBA icon Kevin Garnett revealed his take on the black mamba switching his number from 8 to 24. Garnett said that Kobe was a very competitive person and his decision to choose the number 24 was a direct shot at MJ and his legacy. He wanted the number 24 as it was above 23- the iconic number of Michael Jordan. Garnett highlighted that Kobe always wanted to one-up MJ and also went after every record the Bulls legend had.
What do you think of Kobe’s response to MJ’s comments at their dinner? We are eager to know your thoughts, so drop down in the comments and let us know.
