This is a great article; loved this part about Jordan and Kobe and what MJ told Kobe to do…
O.C. Register: Where: Nike sponsorship function. When: Summer, 2005. What: Kobe Bryant picking Jordan’s brain about Bryant’s impending move from guard to Jordan’s wing/small forward position in the triangle.
Jordan’s primary advice: “Go to the post a lot.”
Jordan wound up there often as time went by in Chicago. More and more, he appreciated it was the place to be in the triangle and a great spot from which to take care of business. But the real crux of it is that illegal-defense rules in his era enabled Jordan to dominate absolutely in isolation on the wing – an option the NBA’s legalized zones took away from Bryant.
So, Jordan told Bryant, it’s a different game than Jordan played – so Bryant had to embrace all that the post offered.
Bryant has done as he was told, integrating post play into his repertoire that very 2005-06 season, although this season without Gasol has seen him far more aggressively seize post position.
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