Kobe Bryant finally decided the time is coming for him to hang up his jersey and retire and one of the first people he told, is the player he’s been compared to his whole career, Michael Jordan.

Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers star, had something he wanted to tell the legendary former Chicago Bulls guard.

“This is it,” Bryant said.

The 37-year-old Bryant recounted the story Sunday when he publicly announced he would be retiring at the end of this season, his 20th in the NBA.

“[Jordan] is actually one of the first people that I told over the summer,” Bryant said Sunday. “We’ve been in frequent contact.”

Bryant, speaking after the Lakers’ 107-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Staples Center, said he asked Jordan when he knew he wanted to retire.

“We had some laughs, went back and forth about it,” Bryant said. “But the important thing for him, he said, ‘Just enjoy it. No matter what, just enjoy it. Don’t let anybody take that away from you, no matter what happens, good or bad. Enjoy it, man.'”

Both Jordan and Bryant will go down as two of the best shooting guards in NBA history.  Many consider Kobe to be the closest we’ve gotten to Jordan while of course LeBron James’ supporters disagree but that’s another story.

Shay Marie: Twitter || Instagram

source: ESPN