Mourning a fellow NBA icon, Michael Jordan on Monday said a piece of him died when Kobe Bryant was killed, alongside eights others, in a helicopter crash last month.
The former Chicago Bulls superstar became visibly choked up several times as he delivered an emotional eulogy at a public memorial held Monday at Staples Center for Kobe and Gianna Bryant.
“When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died,” Jordan said, tears streaming down his face.
He broke down at several points in the speech, which eventually prompted him to humorously bring up the popular “Crying Jordan” internet meme that circulated in the mid-2010s.
“I’ll have to look at another crying meme for the next” few years, Jordan joked as the crowd reacted with laughter and thunderous applause. “I told my wife I wasn’t going to do this because I didn’t want to see that for the next three or four years. But that is what Kobe Bryant does to me.”
Bryant was a close friend and more — “like a little brother,” Jordan said. “Everyone always wanted to talk about the comparisons between he and I. I just wanted to talk about Kobe.”
Those comparisons were inevitable, as the two basketball players were considered the greatest of their generation.
Bryant entered the league directly from high school in 1996 and began seeking advice from the legendary Bulls player. The two eventually became close.
Relaying a story from 1999, Jordan said he went to the Lakers locker room to see his former coach Phil Jackson, who was then at the helm of the L.A organization.
Even though it was just a social visit, Bryant was ready for a one-on-one match; the first thing he asked Jordan was whether he had brought his shoes.
“No, I wasn’t thinking about playing,'” Jordan recalled, prompting laughter from the crowd. “But his attitude to compete and play against someone he felt like he could enhance and improve his game. … that’s what I loved about the kid.”
Their relationship blossomed as Jordan’s career was wrapping up and Bryant’s was just launching.
The Lakers star would call and text him at all hours of the night to discuss the game — everything from post-up moves, to footwork, and even Jackson’s triangle offense.
“At first it was an aggravation. But then it turned into a certain passion,” Jordan told the crowd. “This kid had passion like you would never know.”
Bryant wanted to be the best basketball player he could be, and that in turn inspired Jordan to be the best big brother to the budding superstar, he said.
Their conversations would ultimately go beyond the game, to business and family.
“In the game of basketball, in life, as a parent, Kobe left nothing in the tank. He left it all on the floor,” Jordan said, noting that Bryant brought out the best in others — including himself.
Bryant strove to improve every day, whether it was on the basketball court or as a husband and father, according to Jordan. He said that he took those lessons from Kobe to heart, and urged others to use that inspiration from Bryant’s life for their own lives.
“From this day forward, I will live with the memories of knowing that I had a little brother, that I tried to help in every way I could,” he said at the conclusion of his speech. “Rest in peace, little brother.”
