Kobe Bryant was a student of the game. His work ethic went on to inspire a generation of basketball fans, many of whom are currently in the NBA. But one player that Kobe was obsessed with was Michael Jordan. Though he wanted to imitate the best, Bryant’s craze to be like Mike once ended up pestering Craig Hodges beyond control.
Making an appearance on the Legends of Sport podcast, the former Chicago Bulls legend sat down with host Andy Bernstein. And Hodges dove into Bryant’s impatience to know everything about MJ during a flight to Hawaii.
“Oh man, the very first flight over to Hawaii. That is when we first started together. And we get on the plane and I’m sitting there…He taps me on the shoulder, ‘Hey man, we get in, we need to have lunch’.” Unaware of Bryant’s relentlessness to be like Jordan, Hodges sat down with the Lakers guard.
“I was like, ‘Alright man, let’s sit’. So, as soon as it was, ‘Man, what was MJ like? Did he make players better? Do you think my game is any…’. I was just.” Hodges left the sentence halfway, but the way he shook his head leaves no doubt in the viewer’s mind.
After retiring from the league, Hodges spent a substantial time with the Los Angeles Lakers as their shooting coach. So Bryant had someone who had the privilege to share the court and play with Mike. Bryant’s talent and work ethic amazed the two-time NBA champion. But what amazed him even more was the amount of studying he had done to be as close of a replica to Air Jordan.
“At times it was unbelievable to see that, it was almost mirror images of one another.”
Kobe tended to study a player’s game who got the best of him. He did that with Allen Iverson, but when it came to MJ, Bryant would study his game to the last detail to perfect it instead of looking for signs of weakness.
The Black Mamba was always inquisitive when it came to Black Jesus. But despite being compared to one another, Kobe always referred to Michael as his elder brother.
Bryant even credited his five championship rings to Jordan, claiming he wouldn’t have won anything had it not been for Mike.
“I don’t get five championships here without him.”
Once Bryant got to talking terms with the Bulls icon, he would call him late at night, just to ask questions about the game. Kobe’s dedication to his craft was second to none and to reach the top, he did not hesitate in picking Hodges’ brains before getting directly in touch with Mike.
