Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are often regarded as two of NBA’s biggest-ever stars. Kobe was a pure copy of the legendary MJ
Michael Jordan once made Kobe Bryant so angry that he didn’t speak to his teammates for two weeks.
Jordan, often considered the greatest NBA player of all time, had an illustrious career, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Even after retiring, Jordan remained a major sports figure, largely due to his collaboration with Nike.
During his playing days, Jordan once angered Bryant so much that it led to Bryant’s silence towards his teammates for two weeks. Former Washington Wizards player and MJ-s team mate Gilbert Arenas revealed that this incident occurred after a game where Jordan’s team won while Kobe was wearing ‘Jordan 8’s.’
Reportedly, Jordan told Bryant after the game, “You can wear the shoes but you’ll never fill them.” Words that stun and immediately destroyed the ex Lakers player, who didn’t take this well at all.
“Like, he didn’t talk to his players, didn’t talk to his teammates. Just, they said he was in a, like, focus mode. Like it was straight. Like practice was just so intense. Right? So, the players were like, ‘yo is he mad at us? Did we do something to him?’”
Phil Jackson, the Lakers’ coach at the time, clarified the situation, saying, “Jordan told him, ‘You can wear the shoes but you can never fill them.'” But then just weeks later the game had to switch from Washington to L.A and Kobe was living for this day.
On that then eagerly anticipated game against Jordan’s team Kobe went berserk, the real Kobe turned out and he single handedly won the game. In that game, Kobe scored an impressive 55 points.
Throughout his career, Bryant played exclusively for the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five NBA championships. He was named NBA Finals MVP twice and NBA Most Valuable Player in 2008. Bryant was also named as an NBA All-Star 18 times throughout his wonderful career.
