Michael Jordan was one of the first Kobe Bryant told about retiring

DURING Kobe Bryant’s postgame press conference following a loss to the Indiana Pacers and the announcement that this would be his final season in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers legend made it sound like this has been the plan for quite some time. With Bryant participating in his 20th NBA season, it makes sense that he wouldn’t push it much longer, even with him being remarkably stubborn with the game of basketball — both good and bad.

The cool thing that came out of the announcement we were all expecting to get at some point was whom Kobe told about his retirement before he let us in on the secret. Over the summer, Bryant says he talked to Michael Jordan and even asked him when Jordan knew it was time for him to give it all up. Jordan’s advice to Kobe was to enjoy it, good and bad, for the final moments of his NBA journey. From Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com:

“This is it,” Bryant said.

“[Jordan] is actually one of the first people that I told over the summer,” Bryant said Sunday. “We’ve been in frequent contact.”

“We had some laughs, went back and forth about it,” Bryant said. “But the important thing for him, he said, ‘Just enjoy it. No matter what, just enjoy it. Don’t let anybody take that away from you, no matter what happens, good or bad. Enjoy it, man.'”

I wonder which retirement Kobe was referring to when he asked Jordan about when he knew it was time to hang it up, considering Jordan retired in 1993, 1998, and then again in 2003. It’s probably safe to assume he meant the final retirement. It must be a pretty surreal feeling to spend the majority of your career chasing the legacy of someone like Jordan, whether directly or indirectly, and then be able to share your retirement with him before anybody else.

While some may scoff at the notion of Bryant and Jordan being comparable, it’s always been there from both an accomplishment standpoint and a stylistic way of playing the game. There are dozens of YouTube videos showing the similarities in the game, and their insatiable wills to win have brought about legendary stories both on and off the court that strongly mirror each other from time to time.

Not a bad person to have on your speed dial too.

cbssports.com