For sports fans left without live game action for months on end during the coronavirus pandemic and its social distancing consequences, at least there’s The Last Dance.
The ESPN docuseries, which follows Michael Jordan‘s incredible life and basketball career, aired a brand new fifth episode on Sunday night for sports followers around the world. And with it came an unexpected — and very emotional — appearance from none other than former Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant, in an interview taped before his late January death.
Related: Gayle King Reflects On Going Through Her Own Kobe Controversy
In the episode, Bryant sat down to discuss his memories of MJ, as the two enjoyed long playing careers that overlapped in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Reminiscing about growing up watching the now 57-year-old basketball icon, the athlete said in the doc (below):
“I grew up watching Michael on TV, and now you got a chance to go face-to-face with him. You get a chance to really see and, like, touch and feel his strength, speed, quickness. And it was fun to be out there.”
As the late superstar said those words, viewers were treated with a walk down memory lane: footage from the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, in which Jordan and Bryant faced off head to head. Kobe was just 19 years old at the time, and he watched as MJ dominated the match and eventually took home his third All-Star MVP Award.
Looking back on that time — and the rest of his career afterward — the Mamba Mentality author reminisced on just how big of an impact Jordan had on his life. In the doc, the late, great Kobe shared:
“It was a rough couple years for me coming into the league because at the time the league was so much older. It’s not as young as it is today, so nobody was really thinking much of me. I was, you know, a kid that shot a bunch of air balls, you know what I mean? And at that point, Michael provided a lot of guidance for me. … He said, ‘If you ever need anything, give me a call.’ I don’t get five championships [with the Lakers] without him, because he guided me so much and gave me so much great advice.”
Wow.
We knew things were going to be emotional in the episode — the opening credits included an on-screen message of “In loving memory of Kobe Bryant” — but even so it was still unnerving and very sad to see him interviewed like this, knowing what happened on that horrible day back in January.
Viewers from all over the basketball world felt that pain, too, while watching the docuseries last night.
Basketball analyst Rosalyn Gold-Onwude tweeted her feelings when Kobe’s interview popped up, writing:
“Damn that just hit me. Seeing grown retired Kobe, recently interviewed for this documentary. Kobe was supposed to be watching this with all of us. Tweeting with us… RIP legend.”
No kidding.
And former NBA player Quinn Cook, who played for a time with Kobe and the Lakers, added more:
“That intro… that just tore me apart man. Man I wish Kobe was here to see this man. Thank you for sharing that beautiful and special footage Mike! We miss you Bean.”
So sad.
Related: Vanessa Bryant Honors Kobe On What Would’ve Been Their 19th Anniversary
Even regular fans and viewers got emotional over Kobe’s appearance on the docuseries. One tweeter shared a very common sentiment among those who watched the new episode on Sunday night:
“Not goin lie watching the last dance last nite and seeing Kobe made me tear up”
And another added more:
“I watch the last dance with my mama every Sunday. I had to walk out on the Kobe part tho. S**t is still crazy to me”
Wow…
Clearly, emotions were running high all night long, having to relive the loss of one legend to honor and celebrate the life and career of another. Tough, tough stuff…
[Image via WENN]
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