Everyone would rather not remember Michael Jordan’s playing days with the Washington Wizards. It wasn’t terrible, but it certainly wasn’t anything like his Chicago Bulls domination era. Though MJ is someone Kobe Bryant has looked up to his entire playing career, he doesn’t want his last days to be compared to Jordan’s.
Kobe Bryant is entering his 20th NBA season and is stepping into what he considers is “uncharted territory” as a 37-year-old first option shooting guard for a rebuilding Los Angeles Lakers squad.
It speaks volumes about Bryant’s state of mind that he has no muse for this particular moment. He has spent recent years seeking inspiration from all corners, be it the Arianna Huffington and Anna Wintour types in the business world or his widely known basketball North Star, Michael Jordan. In this instance, however, he has yet to find someone who can truly relate to this particular path. […]
“This is uncharted territory,” he said. “My 37 (years old) isn’t MJ’s 37 (when he returned after taking two seasons off to play for the Washington Wizards), you know what I mean? Nor is it the same team or the same system that he was playing in. It’s much, much different. There’s really no barometer, no (precedent) for training physically, for recovery. It’s uncharted territory.”
