Hornets owner Michael Jordan’s tears, humor light up Kobe Bryant memorial service
If this leads to a whole new excuse for “Crying Jordan” memes, so be it.
Michael Jordan — basketball icon and Charlotte Hornets owner — didn’t hold back tears Monday while speaking at a memorial service in Los Angeles for Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, who perished in a helicopter accident last month.
Jordan had a crowd of mourners at Staples Center laughing with his reference to the “Crying Jordan” meme — a fixture of internet humor.
“Now, he’s got me where I’ll have to look at another crying meme for the next” however many years, Jordan joked to laughs and applause. “I told my wife I wasn’t going to do this, because I didn’t want to see her for the next three or four (years, reminding him of his tears). But that’s what Kobe Bryant does to me.”
Bryant was constantly viewed as the “next Jordan” — the closest thing go what Jordan accomplished on the court as a dominant all-around guard. The constant comparisons became tiresome for both, but over time Jordan became a mentor and a resource to Bryant, 16 years younger. Particularly so, when Jordan’s former coach, Phil Jackson, became Bryant’s coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, bringing the Triangle offense that Jordan mastered as a Chicago Bull.
“Maybe it surprised people that Kobe and I were very close friends,” Jordan said during his prepared remarks. “Kobe was my dear friend, like a little brother. Everybody wanted to talk about the comparisons between he and I. I just wanted to talk about Kobe.
“All of us have little brothers and sisters who, for whatever reason, tend to get in your stuff, your closet. It was a nuisance. But that nuisance turned into love over a period of time. Just because of that admiration they have for you as big brothers or big sisters. The questions — them wanting to know everything about every little detail of the life they were about to embark on.”
Bryant was known for his relentless pursuit of basketball knowledge. He pushed Jordan in that way, often at odd hours.
“He used to call me or text me at 11:30, 2:30, 3 o’clock in the morning: Talking about post-up moves, footwork and sometimes the Triangle. At first, it was an aggravation. And then it turned into a certain passion. This kid had a passion like you would never know. It’s an amazing thing about passion — if you love something, if you have a strong passion for something — you would go to the extreme to try to get it: Ice cream, Cokes, hamburgers, whatever you have a love for. If you had to walk, you would go get it. If you had to beg someone, you would go had to get it.
“He wanted to be the best basketball player he could be. As I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be.”
In addition to being one of the featured speakers Monday, Jordan was there to help Vanessa Bryant back to her seat after Kobe’s widow addressed the mourners. In his remarks, Jordan spoke directly to Vanessa Bryant on how her late husband’s passion rubbed off on those around him.
“I’m pretty sure Vanessa and his friends all can say the same thing: He knows how to get to you in a way that affects you personally. Even though he’s being a pain in the (butt)., you always had that sense of love for him in the way that he can bring out the best in you. He did that for me.
“What he accomplished as a basketball player, as a businessman and a storyteller (Bryant was involved in documentary film-making after retiring as a player) and as a father... In the game of basketball, in life, as a parent, Kobe left nothing in the tank. He left it all on the floor.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 4:53 PM.
