The 1998 NBA All-Star game was a huge moment in the life of Kobe Bryant. Apart from becoming the youngest player to become an All-Star, he faced off against his idol, Michael Jordan. It was like a passing of the baton to the next generation. Magic passed it to MJ. Later, Jordan surrendered it to Kobe. 

Jordan and Kobe had so much in common. Kobe’s fadeaway looked like a replica of how beautifully Jordan would make that shot. The Mamba idolized Jordan and worked so much, wanting to be like him. Their bond became increasingly tight as the years progressed. Tim Grover, a mutual trainer of both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, recently revealed the major reason why MJ looked at Kobe in a special way.

How the relationship between Michael Jordan and Kobe turned into a beautiful friendship

Grover had been a long time trainer of Jordan, and then turned towards training his protege, Kobe Bryant. He recently opened up on The Jim Rome show on how MJ and Kobe developed a strong bond. 

“The reason Kobe was different in MJ’s eyes is because Kobe looked at Michael as a reference book, encyclopedia, whatever you want to call it,” Grover began. “He didn’t look at him as a fan. He wasn’t interested in, ‘Mike can I have your shoes after the game? Can I get the signed jersey? Can you do this?’ He wanted to absorb the knowledge that MJ had, and MJ would test individuals. He would give them a little, and then he would see if they actually applied it, and if they actually learned it, and if they actually learned to use it.” 

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“Then if he did that, and you came back and asked for more, he would give you more, but most people never got past that first stage because they were more enamored by the MJ aura than about the actual learning process of becoming the best basketball player. This was his test to see how dedicated these individuals were for the game. You know Michael, the one big thing he’s always big about, ‘I don’t like individuals, I don’t like players, I don’t like players, I don’t like anybody that disrespects the game.'”

Michael Jordan was a phenomenon when he was playing with the Bulls. He was so popular that anyone who was around him could tell you how people were pumped up by just by his presence. All they wanted was an autograph or a picture with ‘His Airness.’

This frenzy followed with young players too. But, in Kobe’s case, it was different. He wanted to learn the game from Jordan, rather than receive his signature on a ball. Grover further asserted how Jordan never liked individuals who just came up to him to share his fame, but not their love for the game.