It was an off-the-court moment that left an impression on former head coach Phil Jackson.
Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant won five NBA titles together.
He witnessed Bryant score 81 points one night and in another game, he scored 50 in three quarters.
He saw him at his best and his worst.
For 11 minutes, Jackson spoke about Bryant. He told stories about introducing him to Michael Jordan and how their relationship was behind the scenes.
It wasn’t the on-court heroics that made Bryant a leader in Jackson’s eyes, but was something that happened off of it.
“Jay Leno invited the team to go on the Tonight Show, and about seven or eight of them came on the tonight show, and some were sitting in the front, some were sitting in the back on chairs, and as Jay Leno was trying to make humor, he said, who’s this guy that was always in the uniform — never in a uniform, always dressed, that’s sitting behind you right there, and Kobe said, don’t make fun of Adam Morrison. He’s one of our teammates. He puts in the work. He may not get to dress, but he puts in the work, and he’s part of our team.
Then I knew, that’s when I was the proudest of Kobe.”
It was Jimmy Kimmel, not Jay Leno, but that’s beside the point. For Jackson, Bryant finally became the captain he was looking for when he defended his teammates who weren’t there to defend themselves.
Jackson ended his speech with that story and walked off the stage.
