© David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Michael Jordan’s challenge to Kobe Bryant after the 2008 NBA Finals
Kobe Bryant went to his idol Michael Jordan for advice after the Los Angeles Lakers lost the 2008 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. MJ gave the Black Mamba a reality check.
The Celtics, led by their Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, reached the 2008 NBA Finals and their star power proved to be too much for Bryant and the Lakers, who lost the series 4-2. Boston had a great coach in Doc Rivers, solid role players like Rajon Rondo, James Posey, Eddie House, Tony Allen and Glen Davis, and veterans like Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown.
Competition brought the best out of Bryant, who wanted to move forward and overcome the Celtics at all cost. As a proud Laker, losing the NBA Finals against their biggest rival was unacceptable.
MJ told Kobe to figure it out
Bryant asked Jordan for advice, and the six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls urged him to figure it out on his own.
“Michael gave me some really good advice after the ‘08 Finals: ‘You got all the tools. You gotta figure out how to get these guys to that next level to win that championship.’” Bryant said to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck.
“Going into the 2010 series, I said, ‘Listen, Boston, they got Ray Allen, they got Paul Pierce, they got [Kevin] Garnett, they got Sheed [Wallace], the talent is there. They’re stacked.’ That was the first superteam. [Michael] kind of heard me lament about it, and he just goes, ‘Yeah, well, it is what it is; you gotta figure it out. There’s no other alternative.’”
Bryant’s redemption
Like MJ, Kobe was fearless regardless of the opponent he had in front of him. Jordan’s path taught Bryant to never back down from challenges, even when the odds were against him. Jordan got Bryant ready to take on his opponents.
Instead of saying, try it again next year, recruit some All-Stars, Jordan challenged Bryant to fix the problem without shortcuts. Kobe followed his advice and in 2009, the Lakers beat the Magic in the NBA Finals before getting payback against the Celtics in an epic seven-game series in the 2010 NBA Finals.
