LeBron James talks about his bond with MJ and late Kobe Bryant.
The Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and the Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan are two of the greatest names in the NBA. While both belong to different eras, comparisons between them have often led to several debates. James debuted in the year 2003, when Jordan pulled down the curtain on his NBA career.
Recently, James appeared on the Pat McAfee Show, where he talked about the influence Jordan has had on his career and gave insights about the bond he shares with the legendary player. The 21-time All-Star revealed that while he respects Jordan’s competitive drive, both of them maintain a distance.
He went on to reveal the reason behind their limited interaction and said that his focus on his career is why they don’t talk much. “We don’t talk. Because I’m still playing. I’m still playing, I’m still focused on my craft right now, James said.” He went on to say that things might change once he retires.
LeBron acknowledged that all the incidents where they both have interacted meant a lot to him considering Jordan is his idol. He stated, “And MJ, we all know MJ. Even if you don’t know him personally, he is one of the most ruthless competitors there is and – until I’m done and he doesn’t have to look at me running up and down wearing the No. 23, and every time my name is mentioned, it’s mentioned with his – he’s like: ‘I don’t want to f**king talk to you. Don’t talk to me right now, I’m on a back nine.’”
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In the same show, James revealed that his decision to wear the No. 23 jersey was inspired by Michael Jordan.
The four-time NBA champion also talked about the bond he shared with former Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant. James stated their bond was initially very competitive despite being on the same team in the Olympics.
“The funny thing is, me and Kobe – the late, great Kob, obviously – me and Kobe never had a real relationship either. We were on the [USA] Olympic team, we had a great relationship there. The Olympic team in ’08, the Olympic team in ’12, but it was always competitive between us,” James said of Kobe.
He added that their relationship truly evolved when Kobe retired and he joined the Lakers. The three-time All-Star MVP continued, “[Joining the Lakers was] when our relationship became really, really good. He welcomed me, he called me, like, ‘Bro, anything you need in L.A., I got you. You’re a Laker now. You’re family,’ and we would have multiple conversations.”
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James talked about how much it meant to him when Kobe tweeted praising him when the former surpassed him on the scoring list during Lakers’ 108-91 loss to 76ers in 2020. He headed into the game 18 runs short of surpassing Bryant, who ended his career with 33,643 points.
“You guys saw him coming to a lot of games… and when I passed him for the scoring record in Philly, he had a tweet out there like, ‘Keep on going.’ Like, ‘Keep transcending the game. Keep going,’ and that s**t meant so much to me,” James said.
After spending four seasons in Miami and a combined 11 years in Cleveland, James moved to the Lakers in 2018. Kobe, on the other hand, spent his entire 20-year career with the Lakers, leading the team to five NBA championships. The Black Mamba retired in 2016 but tragically passed away in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
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