The Last Dance director opens up on Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant's close relationship

The Last Dance episodes 5 and 6 aired on May 3 (May 4 IST) and, as expected, were an emotional affair as the basketball legend Kobe Bryant is set to make an appearance in one of the episodes. The close, yet almost unheard of, relationship between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant will be explored in the latest episodes of the documentary. Despite the duo sharing quite a rivalry on the court, Jordan is known to have considered Kobe Bryant his brother, which was made evident from his eulogy at Kobe Bryant's memorial.

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The Last Dance director Jason Hehir talks about Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant

During a recent Q&A session with theScore, The Last Dance director, Jason Hehir shed more light on working with Kobe Bryant and the unfolding the relationship between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. As quoted by the publication, The Last Dance director, Jason Hehir said, "I didn't realise they had the relationship that they had until we interviewed Kobe in July a few weeks after the birth of his daughter (Capri Bryant). And he told me that from the time he was a youngster in the league, he did seek out Michael's advice."

Hehir revealed that Michael Jordan went out of his way to help the young Lakers star and even offered his personal number to Bryant. According to Jason Hehir, Michael Jordan was always like the big brother to Kobe and was influential during the early stages of Bryant's career.

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MJ and Kobe relationship: The Last Dance director discusses Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant made his name in the NBA for his Mamba mentality which highlighted his sheer determination and desire to be the best every time he stepped on the court. During his legendary career with the Lakers, experts frequently pitted Bryant against Jordan in order to find the better of the two. The duo even enjoyed a healthy rivalry on the court, which mostly coincided with the latter part of Jordan's Bulls career and Bryant's early Lakers career. 

Hehir added, "Kobe said that he's offended when people say, "You could beat Jordan one-on-one, or if you guys played one-on-one, you'd smoke him." And he always told people, "No, no, no. Fall back. This is not a guy that I'm going to talk that way about."

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MJ and Kobe relationship: Jordan's emotional eulogy at Kobe Bryant's memorial

Kobe Bryant along with his daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, California on January 26, 2020. His memorial was held at the Staples Center on February 24. A tearful Michael Jordan delivered a heartfelt eulogy at the memorial. 

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