Kobe Bryant Worked Very Hard to Get Close to Michael Jordan’s Level

NBC Sports Chicago analyst Kendall Gill played against Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. He appeared on the Scoop B Radio Podcast with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson and revealed his thoughts on where the two rank.

“You got to understand that Kobe patterned a lot of his game from Michael. I mean, even from the way he talks in the early days. And Kobe refined his skills just like Michael’s. They both had a post up game. Both had an outside game. Both could take you off the dribble. Both mastered the triple threat position which was key in their games.

But the one thing about Kobe is that – Kobe, if you really look at him, physically he’s doesn’t really blow you away. He’s talented. But not that talented. He was fast, but he wasn’t that fast. He’s quick, but he wasn’t that quick. But one thing about Kobe, he worked harder than everybody else. If you go back – you can YouTube it: The Mind of Kobe Bryant. And you can get inside this kid’s mind, he was so intelligent about what he was doing about the game,” Gill told Robinson.

“Now Kobe had to work his butt off 24/7 to even get close to Michael. Now Michael worked hard, but he didn’t have to work as hard as Kobe to be him. And that’s the difference. Michael was just Michael. Kobe had to work crazy to even get close to him. Michael in my opinion – and this from me playing against him, much better athlete than Kobe. Faster than Kobe. Stronger than Kobe. Quicker than Kobe. I’d say that Kobe had a little bit more skills than Michael. But Michael didn’t need that many skills, he mastered what he needed to master. Kobe had a few more moves. And this is me going against them one-on-one,” Gill added.

MJ and Kobe shared a moment in the 1998 NBA All-Star game, Bryant’s first. After the game they met for an instant on the court and Kobe gave Jordan a respectful tap. MJ then told Kobe “I’ll see you down the road.” They had a special bond and a close friendship until Kobe’s passing earlier in the year. Jordan tearfully eulogized Bryant at STAPLES Center on February 24th, sharing that he was like a little brother to him and that when Kobe died, a piece of him died.