LeBron James opens up on relationship with Jordan, Kobe
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James opened up about his relationships with NBA legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
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LeBron talks abouts his relationship with Michael Jordan
James discussed his relationship with both NBA legends during his interview on “The Pat McAfee Show”.
While the 4-time MVP described his dynamic with Jordan as being “in a good spot,” he acknowledged that there is some distance between them.
“We don’t talk,” James said.
“Because I’m still playing. I’m still playing, I’m still focused on my craft right now.”
When asked if he believed a rapport could blossom between him and Jordan after the forward retires, he said: “I would hope so.”
James and Jordan did share a memorable embrace at halftime of the 2022 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland when the league honored its 75th Anniversary Team.
“That was dope,” James said.
“That’s straight respect, admiration and me, for sure, I wear 23 because of MJ. And the inspiration that he gave me as a kid in Akron, Ohio, who don’t have much inspiration in your hometown.”
LeBron shares his closeness with Kobe
Meanwhile, James also shared his relationship with the late Lakers icon Kobe Bryant.
The 40-year-old said he became closer to Bryant after the latter finished his playing career.
“The funny thing is, me and Kobe — the late, great Kob, obviously — me and Kobe never had a real relationship either,” James said.
“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. We were always like, I was on the East Coast, he was on the West Coast, and it was like, even though … in ’09 and we didn’t beat Orlando and didn’t get an opportunity to play him in the Finals [there was a competitive friction].”
James said the shift first began in 2016 when Bryant retired and continued to evolve when James signed with L.A. as a free agent in the summer of 2018.
“That’s when our relationship became really, really good,” James said.
“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. Obviously, 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— meant so much to me.”
