‘Last Dance’ Director Explains What Michael Jordan Meant With ‘Little Laker Boy’ Comment

In Monday’s Hot Clicks: Michael Jordan’s comments about a young Kobe Bryant, an ex-MLB pitcher encounters a bear and more.

“That little Laker boy”

Episode 5 of The Last Dance opened with a sight that had to be jarring for NBA fans: Kobe Bryant giving a fresh interview. 

Episode 4 left off with the Bulls playing their final game of the first half of the 1998 season, so it only made sense for the next installment to pick up at that year’s All-Star Game. The game would be Jordan’s final All-Star appearance as a Bull and also marked Bryant’s All-Star debut.

Kobe wasn’t even a starter for the Lakers that season (Eddie Jones was the starting shooting guard) but he was voted by the fans as an All-Star starter at the age of just 19. 

In the East locker room before the game, teenage Kobe was on MJ’s mind. 

“That little Laker boy’s gonna take everybody one-on-one,” Jordan said. “He don’t let the game come to him. He just go out there and take it.”

"That little Laker boy's gonna take everybody one-on-one."

MJ knew what Kobe was about before the 1998 All-Star Game even started. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/mm8XlShwwI

— ESPN (@espn) May 4, 2020

Coming from anybody else, you might interpret that as a criticism. Kobe’s ball-hogging tendencies were commonly used by his detractors as an argument against him. But Jordan was a similar sort of player, so you have to imagine he meant it as a compliment. Kobe was the youngest player in the game but he wasn’t intimidated. Jordan had to admire that. 

Jason Hehir, the director of The Last Dance, said he thought it was remarkable that Kobe was on the minds of the East players before tipoff. (The All-Star Game discussion begins around the 2:10 mark in this video.)

“If you look at the young players—the Pennies and the KGs and the Grant Hills, and then the older folks who were on the court as well—it speaks volumes about Kobe and the fact that they knew this kid was a different species when he came in,” Hehir said. “Even MJ, even the GOAT, was saying, ‘He’s going to dictate the pace of this game.’”

And they were right. Kobe scored more points in the game than anybody not named Michael Jordan. 

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Crazy seeing new Kobe footage

"I don't get five championships here without him."#TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/RLcN0gmDrv

— ESPN (@espn) May 4, 2020

“Soaked with blood” might be an exaggeration but this is still wild

MJ put on a show in his final game as a Bull at MSG ... and his feet paid for it. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/NZ5thDHZ0s

— ESPN (@espn) May 4, 2020

Mike got treated differently

I just peeped MJ had his own office in the team locker room 😂😂

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) May 4, 2020

This guy had the best job in the world

Winning some of MJ's money#TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/TFyE1mOtFV

— The Ringer (@ringer) May 4, 2020

MJ had the Bulls-colored Range Rover with custom plates

😍 pic.twitter.com/DfIATSjAlH

— Taco Trey Kerby (@treykerby) May 4, 2020

He’s not just a superhuman on TV

The Mountain from "Game of Thrones" just set a new world record by deadlifting 1,104 pounds 😮

(via @espn)pic.twitter.com/WGe1h6pQft

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 2, 2020

I’d rather be facing Mike Trout with the bases loaded

Today my neighbor yelled “Eric! There’s a bear!”

I turned around and the bear was already in my yard, I was on my dock with nowhere to go.

This is the first thing that’s happened since I retired that has replicated the pressure and adrenaline of pitching in an mlb game. pic.twitter.com/OIS62FoAMR

— Eric O’Flaherty (@EOF34) May 2, 2020

This’ll take some getting used to

*poof* pic.twitter.com/kQVdFwjnI2

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) May 2, 2020

Teddy Bridgewater spent his Saturday on an absurd 74-mile bike ride

This guy is off to an absurd start

Chu, Yu-Hsien hits record-breaking 10th home run in the first 13 games! Unbelievable night!😍

Get an account and watch #TAIWAN baseball on #CPBLTV ⚾https://t.co/MhisEVKoPa⚾#StayHome and watch #CPBL@CTBC_Brothers@RakutenMonkeys pic.twitter.com/HgRYkm28xC

— CPBL 中華職棒 (@CPBL) May 3, 2020

Not sports

John Cena fulfilled yet another sick child’s wish with a surprise visit at the home of a seven-year-old battling a rare cancer. ... The Asian “murder hornets” invading the U.S. for the first time are just as scary as the name makes them sound. ... A man got caught camping at Disney World, which he described as a “tropical paradise.”

My hair is going to be this long pretty soon

Lost sheep gets shorn, raises $7,700 in a guess-the-weight competition pic.twitter.com/c2DDwmCtM2

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 4, 2020

Homemade McDonald’s chicken nuggets

A good song

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