The late legend Kobe Bryant was, for many young hoopers, a major reason why they decided to pursue their basketball dream. Because of that, countless players from both the past and the present have spoken about Kobe as a basketball deity, always telling stories about him in the highest possible tone.
However, Danny Gree n, the retired sharpshooter and a three-time Champion, recently admitted that he didn't like Bryant while growing up, and no, it had nothing to do with Kobe personally. Instead, it was rooted in Green's obsession with another basketball god altogether, Michael Jordan .
Green was born in North Babylon, New York, in 1987, which means his childhood and earliest basketball years perfectly overlapped with watching Jordan rise from an ultra-promising rookie into a global icon and the man many consider the greatest to ever touch a basketball.
Green grew up watching His Airness hit his signature fadeaway, attack the paint at will and embarrass defenders with flawless footwork. That image of basketball perfection stuck with him. So when young Danny first watched Kobe play, it felt awfully familiar. All the mannerisms, the post moves and that signature turn around jumpers… and at the time, it bothered him. How can someone just "steal" those moves?
What he didn't understand back then was just how difficult it was to even slightly resemble Jordan on an NBA floor, let alone build a Hall of Fame career around it.
"I watched Kob' growing up, and I though he was a great player, but, you know, I was a such big Michael Jordan fan. I was one of those guys… I kinda didn't like him as much, because I'm like, 'He's trying to be like Mike,' and I hated that at first," the UNC product shared in his recent appearance on Byron Scott's Fast Break podcast.
And that perspective didn't last forever.
"But when you get older, as an adult, you realize, and you become a player in the NBA, and you realize how hard it is to be close to Michael. To be like Mike. You very much appreciate how great he is and his mind and how he approached the game," Green added.
Like most things in life, age and experience bring a different kind of wisdom. For Danny, that same wisdom came when he realized that Kobe wasn't simply a copycat trying to live in Jordan's shadow.
Yes, Bryant borrowed a move from His Airness' book, but turned it into perfection through his dedication. This is a compliment, not a flaw, as Green pointed out.
Bryant and Green were never teammates, but their paths crossed plenty of times in the Western Conference when Green was a key piece of the San Antonio Spurs dynasty. While Green was never the offensive superstar Kobe was, he played his role to perfection. As a matter of fact, Green even hit a game-winner over Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2012, a moment he still remembers to this day.
That full-circle journey, from disliking Kobe as a kid to appreciating him as a professional, only goes to show how many players come to understand greatness. And Kobe, while he did resemble Mike, forged his own path and, in the eyes of many, sits at the very top of the greatest players of all time.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
