“That Motherf*** Spun so Fast”: When Michael Jordan Got the Better of a Rookie Kobe Bryant

Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are legends of their respective eras. However, before Kobe became a legend, he used to study His Airness. A video clip from earlier this year depicts Bryant describing his thoughts about the same.

When Kobe Bryant studied MJ’s moves in vain

After Los Angeles Lakers great’s tragic death in a helicopter crash, producer Darren Rovell posted a video on Twitter of his favorite Kobe story. He had once revealed how he felt after studying NBA star Michael Jordan on film.

He also talked about what it was like the first time he faced MJ as a rookie. An 18-year-old Bryant first matched up against Jordan during LA Lakers’ game against the Chicago Bulls in 1996.

In the video, Bryant says that he was confident ahead of his first encounter against Jordan. However, he did admit that the Bulls legend got the better of him that day.

“He would catch the ball in the corner, screener comes up, he sets the screener around the corner,” Bryant says. “I’ve seen him pirouette away from the screen so many times. Every time I said, ‘I’m not gonna f*** up that one, just force him over the screen’. Sure as s***, he leaned down like he was going over the screen.”

Talking about how shocked he was to watch MJ move like that, Bryant said, “And s*** looked so believable, it really did. Like I really thought he was going over the screen. ‘There’s no… that motherf***** spun so fast baseline, he was dunking the ball before I knew what the hell happened.”

Then, MJ gave Kobe a classic Jordan punchline, as if he knew he had crushed the rookie under his foot

“I was 18, and I was like, ‘oh s***, that’s pretty f****** quick!’. Then running back down the court he’s like, ‘a lot faster in person, isn’t it?’.”

Apparently, this was the clip Bryant was talking about:

Jordan was at his peak at the time, scoring 30 points during the night in question. He won his fifth NBA championship that season.

On the other hand, it was only the 19th game of Bryant’s NBA regular-season career while he was the 13th pick in the draft that year.