Magic Johnson built close relationships with the two greatest shooting guards of all time. Michael Jordan has been one of his close friends since their playing days and he got to mentor Kobe Bryant on the Lakers. In a recent appearance on the Jennifer Hudson show, Magic compared the pair by calling Jordan the greatest ever but heavily complimenting Kobe by calling him special.
“He’s probably the closest dude to Michael Jordan. Michael is the greatest that’s ever played. But Kobe in terms of how he was able to, his mannerisms like Michael, the way he approached the game like Michael. Special.”
Before making the Jordan comparison, Magic got emotional while talking about attending the unveiling of Kobe’s statue outside the Crypto.com Arena.
Jennifer Hudson: “You were at the unveiling of Kobe Bryant’s statue in LA. What did that mean to you?”
Magic Johnson: “Jennifer, it was bittersweet. Vannessa, his wife, did an amazing job with her speech. I think she designed his statue too. We all miss him and him not being there. What a legacy he left, he was such an amazing young man. The things that he did for women’s sports, the ‘girl dad’, and the championships that he won. Kobe was much more than a dominant basketball player and a champion. He meant so much to the city of Los Angeles and the basketball world worldwide. The statue is the best statue I have ever seen, so give Vannessa and Jeanie Buss a lot of credit because it was amazing. We all miss him and his presence. Thank you to everyone who’s gone by and taken pictures with the statue who are Kobe fans because there’ll never be another Kobe Bryant.”
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