This painting is a tribute to both Kobe and Mj's brotherly bond as well as Kobe’s unfinished Legacy (Rest in Peace Mamba).
When you take a detailed look you’ll notice there are segments of this canvas that are unfinished to add to the novelty. And the most memorable quotes between the two.
Backstory: numerous players in the league wanted to be mentored by Jordan. However, most of them didn’t have the mental toughness, persistence, and sheer will to improve the same way Kobe did. Bryant cared about the details and knew it was Jordan who could teach him all he needs to know to get every possible advantage against the competition.
“There’s a bunch of other athletes that came up to Michael, that wanted him to ‘mentor them. But when they found out how difficult it was to maintain that intensity and to be that relentless, most of them faded out. “But Kobe kept it up. The more information that Michael gave him, Kobe got even more thirst.”Bryant would consume every piece of advice, work through every lesson Jordan offered. Then, like an eager student, he’d report back and ask for a new assignment. “Michael thought everybody was annoying.”
- Tim Grover
When Michael gave Kobe his number, that meant something because he wouldn’t do such a thing frequently, which means he also saw the fire and passion in Kobe. Throughout the years, they built this younger brother, older brother dynamic, where Kobe would always look for advice no matter what the topic is or when. Michael would regularly get calls from Bryant at the most awkward times of the day and night, and even though he was irritated by that, he never refused to help his younger brother.
“But here’s the thing, it’s how he said [Kobe] was annoying. When he talked about Kobe as annoying, it was like your little brother that’s always like, ‘Come on, come on, let’s go, let’s go do this, let’s go.'”
-Tim Grover
In Grover’s opinion, Bryant had to earn the right to have these conversations with Jordan. At that time, Jordan was the most famous athlete on the planet, which meant many people were afraid to speak with him because they were starstruck. That wasn’t the case for Kobe, who was young, stubborn, and willing to learn, and Jordan immediately noticed that this kid has the confidence to get to that next level.
“You had to earn the right to have that conversation. So with Kobe, Michael would have not taken the next call if he didn’t see something in him.” Whether it was confidence or youthful ignorance, Bryant never questioned whether he was worthy of Jordan’s attention and mentoring. He just relentlessly pursued it. “You can’t learn if you don’t ask,”
- Tim Grover
Jordan and Bryant developed a close relationship throughout the years, and it was on Kobe Bryant’s commemoration when we saw Jordan cry while giving a speech. He accepted Kobe from day one as his younger brother and someone who was the torchbearer after he finally retired from the game of basketball. Kobe didn’t disappoint, and everything he did in the latter stages of his career, allowed us also to see glimpses of Michael Jordan
