Did Kobe Bryant’s Death make Michael Jordan more aware of his Image, Legacy and the way he Treated people?

Before he died, Kobe was starting to evolve. He started to open up more to people and share his experiences with them. He became a writer and started to express himself through literature. He did more interviews and had his own show where he gave insight on how he viewed the game. Younger players in the NBA looked up to him because he became an open line of communication for them to ask questions and soak up some of his knowledge.

Through his daughter, he was becoming an advocate to break the barriers between women and men athletics. Low key, Kobe was becoming an ambassador for the game of basketball and a motivational force for not only athletes but people trying to achieve their goals. So when he died, it became more personable than just a great athlete passing away; it was deeper than that. You don’t get that type of love unless you gave that type of love.     

“He was like a little brother to me,” Jordan said after the passing of Kobe. MJ couldn’t stop the streams of tears from flowing out of his eyes while speaking at the Staples Center for Kobe’s memorial.

The element of surprise of when Kobe died and the shock on how he died made it that much more tragic. And to say Jordan became more reflective after he passed is kind of a no brainer; because a lot of people became more reflective after he passed. But in Jordan’s case, it is probably the closest glimpse of how he will be viewed after he is gone. How will people remember him? Will he receive the same type of love?

MJ is probably the only athlete to be admired for being just an athlete. Whether good or bad, people got to know Mike Tyson’s personality. We knew Muhammad Ali for being great outside and inside the ring. LeBron James, Serena Williams, Arthur Ashe, Bill Russell, Jim Brown, and I can go on and on with a list of athletes who have made a connection outside of their sport.

Kobe realized this also after his retirement and it started to show. At his memorial, Jordan joked that Kobe could be a “pain in the ass” sometimes. He would call him at all times of the night to get advice.

He patterned his game after Mike. He copied his moves, he walked like him, talked like him and in a lot of aspects acted like him. To say he learned a lot from Jordan would be an understatement. However, in his passing, Jordan learned something from him. The more you give, the more you receive

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