Steve Lipofsky (CC) / Keith Allison (CC)
Michael Jordan was a mentor for Kobe Bryantboth on a purely sporting and mental level, it is no coincidence that they shared a similar style on the pitch. Still, there’s one thing MJ regrets about his relationship with the Mamba.
Until the disappearance of Kobe Bryant he is over two years old now, the general public had no idea of the relationship he had with Michael Jordan. Indeed, they never displayed themselves together, even though they were great ambassadors for Nike, and it was normal to think that the two simply shared a rather similar style and mentality on the pitch.
But when the legendary No. 23 climbed to the podium in tears during the Mamba tribute ceremony, we could understand that their relationship went far beyond their few sporting similarities. Over time, and in the shadows, the two champions have had a bit of a relationship of mentor and student, of little and big brother… It must be said that there are worse than MJ as a model for the future career, he who is at the head of a financial empire.
Jordan regrets learning the fadeaway in Kobe
And if the latter is undoubtedly very proud of everything Kobe has accomplished after his retirement but also during his career, there is one thing he would have liked not to teach him. A signature move that the No. 8/24 eventually perfected and tormented defenders with for years, including Michael Jordan himself. He expressed himself in an excellent article by The Ringer :
Sometimes after our conversations I would lay in bed, and I would think how nice it was to talk to him, and wonder if I would have been able to get that much information out of someone. Sometimes I wondered why I passed on my knowledge to him, when I knew full well that he was going to use it to beat me. No matter what I said, he had the solution to the problem. In fact I was not teaching him anything, I was only confirming what he thought.
The only thing I regret giving Kobe, but again I appreciate that he took inspiration from it, is his post fadeaway. He learned my movement, he perfected it to the point where he could attack the defenses only with this shot, especially when he felt the duel coming. I’m very proud to have seen him do it, even if he didn’t score so many points on me with this gesture.
Michael Jordan is happy to have been the model for Kobe Bryant, and in particular on this shot, even if he regrets having been beaten by his own movement. But it can be said that it is the basis of an iconic shot, which has been taken up by many stars. Kyrie Irving is for example a fadeaway specialist, and he learned it from Kobe, who learned it from MJ. The legacy of No. 23 is still very present in the NBA.
Michael Jordan enjoyed teaching Kobe Bryant things, but less enjoyed being beaten by his clean movements. But as the saying goes, “the student outperforms the master,” so it’s no surprise that the Mamba ended up perfecting the fadeaway.
