When Ron Harper arrived at the Los Angeles Lakers as a 35-year-old veteran, he probably thought he'd quietly finish his career under the bright lights of L.A. It was his return to the City of Angels, having previously spent five seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers before joining the Chicago Bulls , where he went on to win three championships.
After his time with the Bulls, where he practically saw it all on court alongside Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, arguably the best duo in league history, Harper joined the Lakers to find Shaquille O'Neal and a young Kobe Bryant ready to take the league by storm.
As a teammate of MJ, who was known for never letting up even in practice, Harper probably expected some tough competition, but what he encountered was a man preparing to become Jordan's successor.
"Kobe's relentlessness wasn't just about games. Basketball was a 24/7 obsession for him. When they rolled the ball out at practice, there was no need for him to warm up. He was already warmed up at 7 a.m. He was ready to get it in. He would go at guys so hard in practice that I started to think to myself, 'Okay, this guy is really trying to be MJ. He's trying to be the greatest of all-time,'" Harper stressed .
Kobe had something else
When Harper says that, having witnessed firsthand everything Jordan could do on the court, there's no bigger confirmation of someone's greatness.
Even though now, after Bryant's untimely passing, it's easy to talk about him as the man closest to Jordan, Harper experienced it all in real time.
Many players with great skillsets and top-tier work ethic existed even then, but Kobe had something else: the way he moved, the way he talked, everything was on a different level.
And if anyone knows a thing or two about comparisons to Michael, it's Ron, who many in the 90s compared to Michael. Harper's former Bulls teammate, Stacey King, said he saw Harper as the next Jordan .
"Before Kobe came in, we were considering Kobe the closest thing to Michael Jordan, Ron Harper was that guy and I don't think people really appreciate him, even when he's here in Chicago. He lost a lot of his athleticism, but he had a high basketball IQ, which enabled him to play with the Bulls team," said King.
Harper knew very well what it was like to be compared to Jordan and how much weight that carried, something not everyone could handle. Yet, in Bryant's case, he never doubted it for a second. The hours he put in the gym, the time spent watching movies of Jordan – Bryant simply didn't stop until he perfected every Jordan move.
Although he wold never reach Michael's greatness, Kobe will be remembered as a player who likely left the greatest impact on the court as well as off it and that is no small feat.
His Mamba Mentality transcended all boundaries of basketball as a sport and is now viewed through the lens of everyday life.
That's how great Kobe was.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 12, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
