"I've never seen nothing like it"- Ty Lue says there was no difference between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant
Ty Lue played with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant at different stages of his career in the NBA. He won a championship with Bryant in 2001 and then played for two seasons in Jordan’s last years in the league.
In an episode of “The Pivot Podcast,” the LA Clippers head coach was asked about the difference between the two. Here’s Lue’s response to that question:
(23:28 mark)
“No difference. Their will to win, their will to wanna kill you every single night and take your heart, their will to miss 9-10 shots in a row and think the next 10 are going in. Those two, I’ve never seen anything like it. Bron [James] is great, but those two were spitting images.
“Both 6’6, both with the frame they got, athletically ability, the mid-post game, the passing ability cause they don’t wanna pass as much. They wanna kill you. ‘I wanna get 50 [points] every night,’ that’s their mentality.
“Kobe and Jordan, 'I wanna win but I also wanna kill you and take your heart out every single night.'"
It's no secret that Kobe Bryant patterned his game after Michael Jordan. He had Jordan’s aerial flair, stubbornness to excel at all costs and even developed MJ’s patented fadeaway. It wasn’t a surprise that “KB24” often grated on his teammates' nerves the way Jordan did to his in his career.
The fact that they were built almost the same way and with similar mental makeup made them eerily mirror images of one another. Ty Lue added that he only got better playing alongside Bryant and Jordan.
Ty Lue was blown away by Michael Jordan’s work ethic even at 40 years of age
Ty Lue had the chance to play with Michael Jordan in the all-time great's last two years in the NBA. Even then, "MJ" was still a stickler for discipline and hardwork.
Here's Lue on his experience with "His Airness" in Washington:
"It taught me that I was 22, 23 years old and I didn’t work hard enough. When you’re young, you think you’re working hard but until you see people that actually work hard, you don’t really know what work is.
"MJ, being 40 years old, he’d be the first guy in the gym. Practice is at 11 and you walk in the gym and you’re thinking you’re early at 9 o'clock. He’s already got a full lather, he’s done, lifted, court workout, everything. I’m like, ‘Damn!’
"We were coming to practice, he was on one leg. He was hurt the second season [with the Wizards]. He was on one leg the whole year and played 82 games. He practiced everyday and he played every game on one leg.
"40 years old, on one leg, the greatest of all-time. I'm not doing enough.
Michael Jordan was an athletic freak in his younger days, then became a mid-range sniper in his later later years, especially with the Wizards.
82% from with his mid range fadeaway in Washington! 😳🐐
MJ, at 40-years-old, did NOT miss ONE game in 2002-03 and played 37 MPG. https://t.co/0E7qPeZMpM
Ty Lue wasn’t the biggest, fastest or most talented point guard in his prime. He was a role player who managed to extend his career for more than a decade after learning to embrace hard work. The time spent with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant did not go to waste.
You may also like to read: When Michael Jordan laughed at Kobe Bryant for saying Redeem Team could beat Dream Team: "Not one of the smarter things he ever could have done"