Former NBA star Andrei Kirilenko was a guest on the Knuckleheads podcast . During the episode, the hosts asked him to play start-bench-trade between three of the all-time NBA greats; Michael Jordan , Kobe Bryant , and LeBron James . Kirilenko noted that Jordan would start, with LeBron on the bench, and he would trade Kobe Bryant.
"Oh my god. Okay, I will go with my idea. Michael Jordan will start. LeBron will be benched, and Kobe will be cut. Even though I love Kobe and he's number one. Just because, as I said, Kobe is a similar player to MJ. I have to take Basketball Jesus."
(1:10:29 onwards)
Kirilenko clearly struggled to name Bryant, who was his contemporary during his time in the NBA, as the player he deemed surplus to requirements. But considering the names he was put in front of, it is not surprising that Kirilenko chose to go with Michael Jordan and LeBron James ahead of him.
Kirilenko's reasoning for picking Michael Jordan over Kobe was simple; the two are extremely similar players. And many believe that Jordan was a slightly better version of Kobe Bryant. Kobe himself made no secret of how much he took from Michael Jordan's game, and how many elements of his game he tried to replicate.
Jordan and Kobe had a special bond with each other. Bryant considered MJ his mentor in the league and often would reach out and spend time with him, even taking counsel from Jordan when facing a rough patch in his career.
As for LeBron James, his unique nature as a player, especially compared to Kobe and Michael, is perhaps what sealed his place on Kirilenko's fictional team. James' incredible playmaking and ball-handling abilities make him the perfect player to feed Michael Jordan and the rest of the team to make sure things run smoothly.
Kobe Bryant Was A Mentor To Many Players In The NBA
Much like Michael Jordan served as a mentor to him, Kobe Bryant mentored several players in the league during the latter half of his career. As one of the elder statesmen in the NBA, Bryant took a lot of players under his wing and helped them improve their games whenever he got the chance.
Most recently, Isaiah Thomas spoke about how Kobe Bryant would go out of his way to watch game films with him and give him advice on what he should do differently when on the court.
Considering Bryant had retired by the time Thomas was becoming a star in the league, it was really great of Kobe to take time out of his day to do that for him. Another former Lakers player, Darius Odom-Johnson, also told the story of how Bryant gave him valuable advice about controlling his emotions on the court.
Bryant was a great teammate and would have his fellow players' backs whenever he needed to. Legendary comedian Marlon Wayans told the story of Kobe Bryant confronting him after Wayans had made some jokes at Pau Gasol's expense while sitting courtside at a Lakers game.
There is no denying the impact Bryant had on the basketball court. However, a great deal of his legacy is also upheld by the players he mentored during his two-decade career in the NBA, and that will never be forgotten.
Related: Los Angeles Lakers: The Best Player In Each Season Of The 21st Century
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