What Kobe Really Thinks Of Jordan

Kobe Bryant reveals the true nature of his relationship with Michael Jordan 

KOBE Bryant has moved a few steps closer to an historic achievement — passing Michael Jordan on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Bryant has now scored 32,194 points in his 19-year career, just 98 points behind Jordan (32,292) who sits third on the list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928).
The approaching milestone has seen another round of comparisons between the men widely recognised as the two best shooting guards ever to play the game.
Being likened to Jordan hasn’t always sat well with Bryant and he recently opened up to Bleacher Report about why that is and what his relationship with MJ is really like.
“The thing that I always bristled at was the notion that I learned everything that I know from Michael. That’s just not true,” Bryant said.
“Hakeem Olajuwon deserves a lot of credit. Jerry West deserves a lot of credit. Oscar Robertson deserves a lot of credit. I really was a student of the game and watched everybody.
“I’ve always welcomed the comparison to Michael if it’s in competitive spirit or in terms of records that I may set. I’ve always been cool with that. To be in that kind of company is … is … is … crazy, for lack of a better term. Rare air.”
Bryant’s rookie season with the Lakers coincided with Jordan’s fifth NBA championship with Chicago in 1996-97.
Jordan retired after the following season but returned for a two-year stint in Washington from 2001-03 and played several games against Bryant.
“We hit it off very well. He was really like a big brother, and whether it’s because we see things in a similar way in terms of our competitive spirit or fire or whatever the case may be, there’s an understanding that we have — a connection that we have,” Bryant said.
“I don’t know if he opened up with me more than he did with other players, I’m not sure. I don’t know if other players had the balls even to ask. But we have a really, really good relationship.”
 Bryant has regularly sought Jordan out for advice during his career and modelled some parts of his game on the Bulls legend.
But he’s always been reluctant to share the precise nature of their conversations.
“To get that kind of information, to me it’s like climbing Mount Everest and speaking to a Buddha at the top of the mountain. You want that information? You’ve got to climb that mountain yourself,” he said.
But he was happy to share what aspect of Jordan’s game he admired most.
“Aggression. It’s not one game or one play, in particular; it’s just his aggressiveness,” Bryant said.
“It takes a lot of work, a lot of conditioning, skill and thought to be that aggressive and that assertive. He was relentless, man. He just kept coming after you.”