{"id":137881,"date":"2025-05-25T00:16:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T00:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/kobe-bryant-revealed-his-initial-resentment-toward-michael-jordan-i-dont-like-this-kid-because-magic-was-my-guy\/"},"modified":"2025-05-25T00:16:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T00:16:46","slug":"kobe-bryant-revealed-his-initial-resentment-toward-michael-jordan-i-dont-like-this-kid-because-magic-was-my-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/kobe-bryant-revealed-his-initial-resentment-toward-michael-jordan-i-dont-like-this-kid-because-magic-was-my-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"Kobe Bryant revealed his initial resentment toward Michael Jordan: “I don’t like this kid because Magic was my guy.”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In the summer of \u00a01984\u00a0, a young boy who would turn \u00a0six\u00a0 in August that year was captivated by a television broadcast. The screen featured the newly formed \u00a0Team USA\u00a0 playing a series of exhibition games against professional opponents as part of their preparation for the home \u00a0Olympics\u00a0. This event would soon become a pivotal moment in the boy’s life, guiding his future path in the world of basketball.<\/p>\n

Roland Lazenby, author of the acclaimed biography “Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant<\/a>,” explains that these games served purely as warm-ups for the American squad against pro players. Yet for the young viewer, it became a defining experience that would shape his aspirations and dreams.<\/p>\n

During these broadcasts, the boy, who would grow up to be basketball legend Kobe Bryant<\/a>, first noticed \u00a0Michael Jordan\u00a0. This moment would profoundly influence his future on the hardwood as he aimed for greatness.<\/p>\n

Kobe’s Early Basketball Passion<\/h2>\n

At that time, a lot was happening in young Kobe’s life. Not long before those memorable scrimmages, his parents decided to move from \u00a0Philadelphia, Pennsylvania\u00a0, to \u00a0Europe\u00a0. Eager to begin a new chapter, the family aimed to settle in \u00a0Rieti\u00a0, a quiet town in central \u00a0Italy\u00a0. Here, Kobe’s father, \u00a0Joe “Jellybean” Bryant\u00a0, wanted to continue his basketball career after eight seasons in the NBA.<\/p>\n

Despite the change of scenery, Kobe was determined to watch Team USA scrimmage. A significant reason for this was \u00a0Magic Johnson\u00a0, a star on that team who had just finished third in \u00a0MVP\u00a0 voting months earlier. Lazenby’s 2016 book chronicled how young Kobe idolized the \u00a0Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0 legend during his formative years.<\/p>\n

Kobe’s father frequently took him to Lakers games, introducing him to players, and those experiences were pivotal in forming Kobe’s admiration for Magic \u2014 a player his father respected greatly. Lazenby highlighted that Johnson, often regarded as the greatest point guard in \u00a0NBA\u00a0 history, became the \u00a0\u201cundisputed star\u201d\u00a0 in the Bryant household during that time.<\/p>\n

The “Black Mamba” himself recounted how he admired the Lakers point guard. As he later stated, \u201cI wanted to see Magic. Just the enthusiasm he had for playing the game. He just loved playing, you could tell. Plus, his forward passes used to drive me nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Stunned a Young Kobe<\/h2>\n

While Kobe was initially focused on the Lakers legend during that televised scrimmage, an unexpected player stole the spotlight \u2014 \u00a0Jordan\u00a0, fresh off his stellar collegiate career at North Carolina and soon to be the number one pick in the \u00a01984 NBA Draft\u00a0.<\/p>\n

In a remarkable play, MJ raced down the court on a fast break, dashed past Magic, and dunked with immense power over him. This moment left the young viewer in sheer astonishment. Kobe recalled, \u201cThis guy dribbles on the fast break and took off \u2014 I think it was over Magic \u2014 and dunked and flew past Magic. That\u2019s not supposed to happen. Who was this kid?\u201d<\/p>\n

Initially, the boy experienced a whirlwind of emotions. Watching his idol being outplayed ignited a complex mix of frustration and envy within the aspiring athlete. He later expressed, \u201cI don’t like this kid \u2018cause Magic was my guy.\u201d However, beneath this bitterness, there lay a hint of \u00a0respect\u00a0 for Michael’s extraordinary talent.<\/p>\n

The “Black Mamba” vs. “His Airness”<\/h2>\n

As Team USA, featuring future Hall of Famers Jordan and Johnson, clinched Olympic gold soon after, a young Kobe was quietly fine-tuning his skills across the ocean in Europe \u2014 and he was doing it impressively. Despite his youth, Kobe, who also played soccer, quickly emerged as a formidable basketball talent. He often grappled against older, more experienced competitors and still made a lasting impression.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to \u00a0December 17, 1996\u00a0 \u2014 approximately \u00a012 years\u00a0 after Kobe first watched Jordan play, they met on an NBA court for the first time. In a thrilling overtime victory for the \u00a0Chicago Bulls\u00a0, Jordan scored \u00a030\u00a0 points, showcasing a brilliant performance. Meanwhile, rookie Kobe scored just five points in ten minutes off the bench, still adapting to the NBA’s rigorous pace.<\/p>\n

Over the following seasons, the two faced each other multiple times in regular-season matchups but never met in the playoffs. Their last encounter occurred during the \u00a02002-03\u00a0 season, with Kobe finishing with an \u00a08-3 head-to-head record\u00a0 against Jordan. It\u2019s noteworthy that during these matchups, Kobe was just entering his prime, while Mike was already past the peak of his legendary career.<\/p>\n

Jordan\u2019s illustrious achievements included \u00a0six NBA championships\u00a0, \u00a0six Finals MVPs\u00a0, \u00a0five regular-season MVPs\u00a0, \u00a014 All-Star appearances\u00a0, and a record \u00a010 scoring titles\u00a0. These accomplishments further cemented his position as one of the greatest athletes in sports history.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the inspirational journey of Kobe Bryant showcases how influential moments in childhood can ignite a lifelong passion. From witnessing legends like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan to carving his own path in the world of basketball, Kobe’s story is a testament to the power of dreams and hard work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the summer of \u00a01984\u00a0, a young boy who would turn \u00a0six\u00a0 in August that year was captivated by a television broadcast. The screen featured the newly formed \u00a0Team USA\u00a0 playing a series of exhibition games against professional opponents as part of their preparation for the home \u00a0Olympics\u00a0. This event would soon become a pivotal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":137882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[36108,36113,36111,36110,4929,12341,9004,36107,7890,27199,10120,36102,36112,36109,1836,36104,9232,36103,14538,17593,4655,36105,36106],"class_list":["post-137881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-black-mamba","tag-bryant","tag-charlotte-hornets","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-dont","tag-guy","tag-initial","tag-joe-quotjellybeanquot-bryant","tag-jordan","tag-kid","tag-kobe","tag-kobe-bryant","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-magic","tag-magic-johnson","tag-michael","tag-michael-jordan","tag-nba","tag-resentment","tag-revealed","tag-roland-lazenby","tag-team-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}