On Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a statue outside Crypto.com Arena to celebrate the life and legacy of Kobe Bryant. As part of the unveiling of the statue, several people involved in Bryant’s personal and professional life spoke.
One of them was Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson, who won five championships with Bryant in Los Angeles. At one point, Jackson told the story of a meeting he arranged between Kobe and Michael Jordan, who won six rings under Jackson in Chicago and liked Kobe as a younger brother. If anyone knows anything about Kobe’s eternal confidence, this story won’t surprise them.
“I arranged a meeting between Michael and Kobe to give him an idea of how to deal with a restricted basketball system that relies on passing the ball to available teammates and hoping to get one-on-one with the guy in front of you.” Jackson said. “So, I arranged, we had a little meeting downstairs in the cigar room next to the bar, and Michael and I were sitting there, and Kobe came in after he had showered and been talking to the media. He sat down and he said: ” Michael, I can go one-on-one with you. “Michael said, ‘Well, I guess you might, I’m 37 and you’re 22.'”
It’s unclear if they continue to play one-on-one, but I really hope they do.