Michael Jordan to present Kobe Bryant at Hall of Fame induction
Following Bryant’s death, it was Vanessa who tabbed Jordan for Kobe’s enshrinement, a nod to the pair’s roundball bond. Kobe had long modeled his game after Jordan’s, considering the six-time NBA champion a mentor and confidant. Jordan, meanwhile, referred to Bryant as his “little brother,” and during Bryant’s Los Angeles memorial service shared that, “When Kobe died, a part of me died.”
Vanessa Bryant, left, widow of Kobe Bryant, presents their daughter Natalia with Bryant’s Hall of Fame jacket at the 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame awards tip-off celebration and awards gala, Friday, May 14, 2021, in Uncasville, Conn.
Jordan recently revealed that he still clings to the last conversation he and Bryant shared, a series of texts tapped out between the two that Jordan can’t bring himself to remove from his smart phone.
“I don’t know why,” he says, “but I just can’t delete it.”
Though it’s uncertain how much Jordan will speak Saturday night, he’ll no doubt be guarding against a force as unrelenting as any he or Bryant saw during either of their legendary careers — the emotions of the moment. After all, it was during his own Hall of Fame induction in 2009 when Jordan famously failed to fight back rivers of tears, a scene which ultimately birthed the infamous “Crying Jordan Meme.”
NBA great Michael Jordan will present Kobe Bryant for basketball Hall of Fame induction
But Bryant’s ceremony will be far different than Jordan’s, as the former’s absence figures to hang palpably in the air, just as both Bryant’s No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys float among the Staples Center rafters.
At age 41, Bryant is the rare legend to die prior to his own Hall of Fame induction. The world will never know what he might have said on this evening, how he’d have reflected on his journey, the one traveled along the path paved by Jordan that he was further clearing for Gianna, herself a blossoming basketball player.
And while Bryant’s acceptance speech will go unheard, his achievements have long spoken for themselves. During his 20-year-career — all spent with the Lakers — the 6’6″ Bryant collected five NBA championships, was selected to 18 All-Star teams, earned the NBA MVP, and twice led the league in scoring. His 33,643 points scored are 4th most all-time, 1,351 ahead of Jordan, who sits one place back of Bryant.
But as close as Bryant and Jordan were statistically, it’s unlikely that numbers will drive the narrative during this weekend’s events. More likely, the conversation will center around the passion shared by the two elite masters of their craft, one gone far too soon, the other called upon one final time to set the stage for his little brother.