This is news to me, and likely would have never happened, but it sounds really good. According to the Washington Post, Kobe Bryant had dreams of signing with the Wizards and Michael Jordan ten-years ago, he wanted out of L.A.
Very few know that this seemingly laughable fantasy was nearly reality: More than a decade ago, Bryant wanted to get away from Los Angeles, and the team he wanted to join was the Wizards, where he would join forces with his mentor Michael Jordan.
Those plans evaporated when then-Wizards owner Abe Pollin parted ways with Jordan in 2003, a year before Bryant became a free agent, but as Wizards fans pine over the idea of Kevin Durant coming to Washington as a free agent, the near-miss that was Kobe-to-DC finally can be shared.
“That’s true,” Bryant confirmed recently. “A long time ago? Yeah.”
According to two people with knowledge of the situation, after Jordan decided to sell his minority ownership stake to resume his playing career with the Wizards, Bryant informed him several times he wanted to play for the Wizards — under the assumption that Jordan would return to the front office once his playing days were over.
Bryant says Jordan has been a friend and mentor since the 1998 All Star game.
“It’s been ongoing. He’s always been there since we played in ’98 [at the all-star game in New York],” Bryant said of Jordan. Earlier this season, Bryant explained to reporters in Los Angeles why he sought out Jordan for advice and wisdom on basketball and life: “When I first came into the league, Michael was terrifying to everybody. Everybody was really afraid of the guy. Like really, deathly afraid of him. I never really understood that, and I was the one that was willing to challenge and learn from him and wasn’t afraid to call him and ask him questions. He was really open and spoke to me a lot and helped me a lot.”