Even in times of somber and remembrance, it’s good to crack a smile and laugh.
Michael Jordan gave that opportunity to those at Staples Center on Monday.
Jordan spoke at the memorial for Kobe and Gianna Bryant and remembered his “little brother.” And even with Bryant gone, Jordan said the former Los Angeles Lakers legend was able to get his “big brother” one last time.
“I took great pride as I got to know Kobe Bryant that he was just trying to be a better person, a better basketball player, we talked about business, we talked about family. We talked about everything. And he was just trying to be a better person,” Jordan said, as seen during ESPN’s coverage. “Now he’s got me — I’ll have to look at another crying meme for the next… ”
The Staples Center erupted in laughter and applause, including the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma and even Bryant’s widow Vanessa Bryant.
“I told my wife I wasn’t going to do this because I didn’t want to see that for the next three or four years,” Jordan humorously said of the meme, which has became a social media fixture in recent years. “That is what Kobe Bryant does to me.”
You can listen to it here:
“As I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be.”
Michael Jordan on Kobe Bryant. pic.twitter.com/dTSp7VDosP
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 24, 2020
Bryant was 41 at the time of his death.
