Kobe Bryant Recalls The First Time He Was Schooled By Michael Jordan

“That was like the coolest thing, because I had seen that spin move so many times. I knew he was going to do it. But the timing on TV and in person are two completely different things. So he just spun right before I thought he was going to spin. I was like, ‘Man, that was pretty cool.'”

Those are the words of Los Angeles Lakers’ guard Kobe Bryant, reminiscing about his first meeting against Michael Jordan, in an interview with ESPN’s Baxter Holmes. You can see that play below at the 1:22 mark.

The year was 1996, coming off their historic 72 win season, Jordan and the Bulls were on their way to their fifth NBA Championship of the decade and Jordan was cruising to his fifth regular season and Finals MVP awards.

“I think the biggest learning experience, though, was the first time we came out here,” Bryant said, “and I think we had a [18]-point lead and then Scottie [Pippen] and Michael just said, ‘That’s enough.’

“I remember sitting there on the bench like, ‘Man, they’re covering so much ground. I don’t even understand how this is possible. How Pippen can trap in the backcourt and then all of the sudden he’s at half court and then all of the sudden he’s getting a rebound at the rim. How is this physically possible?’ That was probably the biggest lesson I learned.”

After the torch was passed from MJ to Kobe following the former’s retirement in 2003, it wasn’t too long before Kobe was the one schooling the youngsters.

Bryant now has his own NBA MVP, to go along with his 5 championship rings, 2 Finals MVPs and the third most career points in NBA history. Bryant’s story goes to show that before someone can achieve greatness they must first experience it first hand, and he did so in 1996 as he watched his idol, one of, if not the best of all-time, to do it right in front of him.