"Part of me was like… just didn't want to do it" - Kobe Bryant said he considered letting Michael Jordan have his storybook ending in 2003

Yahoo

09-07-2025

"Part of me was like… just didn't want to do it" - Kobe Bryant said he considered letting Michael Jordan have his storybook ending in 2003 originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Many blamed the late Kobe Bryant for spoiling what could have been the perfect ending for Michael Jordan at the 2003 NBA All-Star Game.
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With the score tied at 136 in overtime, Jordan hit his iconic fadeaway shot over Shawn Marion to give the East a 138-136 lead with 4.8 seconds left in the game. At that point, everybody wanted to end the game and make him the hero — and likely the All-Star Game MVP. But after Jordan hit the shot, Bryant signaled for a timeout and the West had one final play with three seconds left in the game.
Kobe drew a foul from Jermaine O'Neal on a 3-point attempt and made two out of three free throws to send the game to a second overtime, during which the West pulled away and won the game.
"We tried our best. We were yelling to stop the game. We was like, 'Stop the game, stop the game.' Well, rest in peace to Kobe Bryant, being Kobe Bryant, he wanted to win the game. So he gets the ball out of the timeout. He gets fouled by Jermaine O'Neal, hits both free throws, and we lose. We ended up losing the game," recalled Vince Carter.
Letting Jordan win crossed Bryant's mind
Bryant could have won the game without the second overtime. However, although he was an 84.3 percent free-throw shooter during the 2002-03 NBA season, he missed the second of three free-throw attempts.
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Before he took his third foul shot, Jordan came over and tried to mess up his mind.
"I was needling him, trying to get him to miss," the Chicago Bulls legend said.
But Bryant buckled down and made the third free throw to tie the game.
"Part of me felt like I had a job to do because I'm in this situation, I need to make these free throws," said Kobe after the legendary game. "But the other part of me was like…just didn't want to do it, just to be honest with you."
"They should've never made the call…We've been complaining about refs all year. No, I'm just kidding," Jordan said about the final moments of overtime. "You know, the game could have ended either way. It was fun."
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Mike would've done what Kobe did too
A day before the All-Star Game, Bryant told reporters that he wouldn't give Jorda a free pass because if it were the other way around, he wouldn't have taken it easy on anybody.
"On his team, I'm sure the guys are going to be feeding him the ball. I'm sure Michael doesn't want us to come out and loaf around. He doesn't want handouts,'' Bryant said. "He wants us to be competitive and play just as hard against him as any other player.''
There's a reason why they Bryant the Black Mamba. He was a ruthless competitor snake who took no prisoners on the court. But deadly and heartless as he was on the court, the thought of giving his idol a fitting farewell entered his mind.
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Related: Kevin Garnett left Michael Jordan off his all-time starting five: "He is the god, and we copied him and s—t, but I got Kob' at my two"
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 5, 2025, where it first appeared.