When Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant passed his idol, Michael Jordan, on the NBA's all-time scoring list, His Airness made sure to congratulate Bryant.
Bryant figures to do the same thing when LeBron James passes him on the list since the two are close friends off the court and have great respect for one another, via Bill Oram of The Athletic:
Jordan texted Bryant to congratulate him. That message remains Bryant’s favorite memory from that night, and the sentiment behind it is something he will pay forward to James.
“That was the most important thing,” Bryant said last week. “That was cool. Because it’s such a brotherhood, such an amount of respect between us as players, and you know the amount of work and consistency you have to put in over time so it’s nothing but love and respect.”
In 1,346 career games for the Lakers, Bryant cemented himself as one of the greatest Lakers of all time, and arguably the greatest. He holds career averages of 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
The 6-foot-6 shooting guard was an 18-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion, 15-time All-NBA team member, two-time Finals MVP and five-time champion with the Purple and Gold.
Bryant is the third-leading scoring in NBA history. He will be fourth when James passes him sometime soon. Some pundits point to Bryant's inefficient shooting numbers as to why Kobe is not higher on their all-time lists. At the end of the day, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but players who played against Bryant know exactly what Kobe brought to the table every night.
The Lakers retired Bryant’s No. 8 and 24 jerseys. He will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer one day and will always be adored by Lakers fans and players around the NBA.
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