On February 8, 1998, a 19-year-old Kobe Bryant and a 34-year-old Michael Jordan faced off at Madison Square Garden. Their duel in the world’s most famous indoor arena would go down in history not only as a battle between two legends of the sport, but also as a true moment “torch run”.
Let’s put ourselves in the situation:
The 1997-1998 season was Kobe’s second in the NBA. He spent his first season as a backup with the Los Angeles Lakers behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel, but participated in the 1997 Rookie Challenge and the Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend.
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There Kobe became the youngest winner in Slam Dunk Contest history at the age of 18, showing the confidence he had that would become his trademark.
18-year-old rookie Kobe Bryant won the unforgettable Slam Dunk Contest title in 1997.
📺: 8 pm/year on TNT pic.twitter.com/W8wMkJ0C4G
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) February 15, 2020
Bryant’s sophomore season catapulted him to stardom. The increase in playing time was matched by a big jump in scoring average, from 7.6 to 15.4 points per game. In a fan vote, Bryant was named the youngest All-Star in NBA history, along with Jones’ teammates Van Exel and Shaquille O’Neal in New York.
Michael Jordan was there too.
In retrospect, 1998 was one of the best years of MJ’s legendary career. He and the Bulls had won their fifth championship the previous season, defeating the Utah Jazz in an NBA Finals that included “the flu game” and an iconic buzzer-beater by Jordan in Game 1.
During the 1997-1998 season, which would become known as the “LAST DANCE” of Jordan with Chicago, while the team faced Jerry Krause, “His Airness” averaged a league-best 28.7 points per game. It wasn’t even in the top eight scoring seasons of his career, but it was enough to earn him his fifth MVP.
The Bulls would win their sixth ring in 1998, with Jordan scoring 45 points against the Jazz in a heroic Game 6 to win the Finals. His final shot for Chicago was a game-winner to clinch the victory in front of a stunned crowd in Salt Lake City.
The #Last shot!
June 14, 1998 #NBAvault pic.twitter.com/Ms2ctNfAod
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) June 14, 2018
But before all that, there was the All-Star Game.
Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan at the 1998 NBA All-Star Game
Bryant was making his All-Star debut, while Jordan was playing in his twelfth career All-Star Game. Ultimately, it would be MJ’s last All-Star appearance as a member of the Bulls, although he would make two more appearances in his career as a member of the Washington Wizards.
Jordan also almost missed this match due to flu.
“If it was Saturday, I wouldn’t play”Jordan said. “I had a really hard time sitting up. I got up and moved around a bit this morning.”
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This duo had met in competition four times before. two in Kobe’s rookie season and two in 1997-1998. In fact, they had met a week before the All-Star, in the game where Bryant’s Lakers beat Jordan’s Bulls 112-87. MJ scored 31 points in that game, 11 more than Kobe’s 20.
In the 1997-1998 season the relationship between the two had become closer. Kobe had scored 33 points in a loss to Chicago earlier in the season, which was enough to impress MJ. Jordan told the rising star he could ask for advice, and Kobe did. Very.
“Sometimes I thought, ‘Why am I giving out all this information that he’s going to use against me?’. Jordan told The Ringer’s Jackie MacMullan. “No matter how the conversation started, he knew the answer. I wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. I think it kind of confirmed that.”
Jordan knew he was becoming something of a mentor to Bryant, but he also knew it meant the competitive young star would come at him early and often. He even spoke badly “that kid from the lakers” in the locker room before the game.
“He was going to follow me. And I told everybody, ‘Look, I know this kid from the Lakers is going to come after me, come after me, and I’m not going to hold back.’ Jordan said. “Well, in that sense, I feel like I have to protect something. Certainly, in the match, it was that competition. It was almost like looking in the mirror, in a sense, you know, why would I want to play less.” Why would I want to play anyone less? I want to play someone I respect and I want to challenge.”
Bryant did, tackling Jordan from the start. But MJ of course gave his best.
Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan in 1998 #NBAAllStar Game! pic.twitter.com/z4buS4p1tk
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 4, 2017
Jordan hit a few early shots as if to send a message that he wasn’t kidding.
“He made those two shots and I was like, ‘OK, let’s do it.’Kobe said, according to Sports Illustrated.
Bryant responded by forcing a turnover with his defense on MJ and then a spectacular 360 for two points.
“It was fun”, Jordan said. “I tried to defend myself from him as much as I could. He was on me real quick. If I see someone who’s maybe sick or whatever, I have to attack them. I like his attitude.”
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In the end, Jordan’s team, made up of the stars of the Eastern Conference, won 135-114. MJ scored 23 points and was named All-Star MVP for the third and final time in his career. Bryant was the game’s second leading scorer with 18 points, leading the Western Conference.
Kobe gave it his all, but the apprentice wasn’t ready to outdo the master.
However, it was the game that made Kobe Bryant famous in the NBA. And so it would go on for decades.
Throughout the rest of his Hall of Fame career, Bryant continued to idolize Jordan and tried to emulate his work ethic and competitive spirit. He even followed MJ’s lead and made the jump shot a science, something Jordan jokingly says he regrets.
“The only thing I gave him that I regretted, but also appreciated, was his fade. He learned my move.” Jordan said. “He learned it to the point where he was using it non-stop, especially when you know you’re going to double up… I was very proud to see him use it, even if he didn’t do it much against me.”
The two would meet two more times in the All-Star Game during Jordan’s time with the Wizards, but it was never more special than that first time at Madison Square Garden with the whole world watching.
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
