Michael Jordan revealed Kobe Bryant’s final text to him, and why he couldn’t delete it

Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant shared plenty of memorable moments on the basketball court. But one of the most meaningful exchanges between the two NBA legends came away from the game.

It was a simple text message. Nothing particularly dramatic. Nothing that either man could have imagined would become so important.

And years after Bryant’s death, it’s a conversation that basketball fans still remember.

Back in May 2021, Jordan revealed to ESPN that he had saved the final text messages he exchanged with Bryant before the Lakers legend was killed in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020.

At the time of the interview, Jordan couldn’t bring himself to erase them.

“I don’t know why,” Jordan told ESPN. “But I just can’t delete it.”

The messages were exchanged on December 8, 2019, less than two months before Bryant’s death.

What makes the conversation so memorable isn’t that the two discussed basketball greatness, championships or their places in NBA history.

Actually, it started with tequila. Bryant had received a bottle of Jordan’s Cincoro Tequila and reached out to let him know he enjoyed it. The two then checked in on their families, exchanging the kind of casual messages that friends send every day.

Eventually, the conversation turned to Bryant’s latest basketball pursuit. He was coaching his daughter Gianna’s youth basketball team, and Jordan couldn’t resist teasing him about it.

Bryant responded by telling Jordan that his team was winning by a whopping 45-8 score.

Some things never change. Even coaching kids, Kobe apparently had little interest in letting up.

Jordan appreciated the exchange because it captured something he had known about Bryant for years. The competitive fire that helped make him one of the greatest players in NBA history hadn’t disappeared when his playing career ended. And neither had their friendship.

Jordan, Kobe shared special relationship

For much of Bryant’s career, fans debated whether he could ever surpass Jordan.

Both were spectacular shooting guards. Both had extraordinary work ethics. Both were known for demanding everything from themselves and their teammates. Jordan won six championships with the Bulls. Bryant won five with the Lakers.

Their combined accomplishments included 11 NBA titles, eight Finals MVP awards, six regular-season MVP awards and 12 scoring championships. But Bryant never seemed particularly interested in the idea that he needed to defeat Jordan in some imaginary one-on-one matchup.

Instead, he regularly acknowledged how much Jordan had helped him. During ESPN’s The Last Dance documentary, Bryant credited Jordan’s guidance with helping him become the player he was.

He understood that many of the things he accomplished came from lessons passed along by the man he had admired growing up. The relationship eventually evolved from superstar and young admirer into something considerably more personal.

Jordan became a mentor, a friend and, in Bryant’s eyes, something close to an older brother. That connection became painfully clear after Bryant’s death.

Jordan’s emotional goodbye to his ‘little brother’

Bryant was just 41 when the helicopter carrying him, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others crashed in Southern California. The tragedy stunned the basketball world.

Jordan was among those who spoke at Bryant’s public memorial in Los Angeles the following month. He broke down in tears while remembering the man he had come to consider family.

Jordan described Bryant as his little brother, offering a glimpse into a friendship that ran much deeper than basketball.

It was a side of Jordan that fans didn’t always see. Throughout his playing career, Jordan had built a reputation for his relentless competitiveness and almost ruthless approach to winning. He wasn’t exactly known for displaying vulnerability in public.

But Bryant’s death was different. Jordan spoke openly about their friendship, the conversations they shared and how much Bryant had meant to him.

He even joked about becoming another crying Michael Jordan meme, a reference to the famous image of him in tears that had circulated around the internet for years. It was a little humor in an otherwise heartbreaking moment.

Text messages took on a different meaning

When Jordan spoke with MacMullan in 2021, he was preparing to present Bryant for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

That honor carried tremendous meaning for Jordan. Bryant had spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Lakers, winning five championships and becoming one of the most recognizable athletes in the world.

He retired in 2016 with career averages of 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists. He made 18 All-Star teams, earned 15 All-NBA selections and won the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 2008.

His 81-point performance against the Raptors in 2006 remains one of the most remarkable individual scoring performances in NBA history. That said, Jordan’s memories of Bryant weren’t limited to basketball accomplishments.

He remembered a young player who worked tirelessly to become great. He remembered the questions, the conversations and the advice. He remembered the former superstar who had found another purpose after retirement, particularly through his involvement in Gianna’s basketball development.

That was the Kobe he had been texting in December 2019. A father. A coach. A friend. And, of course, still a competitor.

Jordan had no way of knowing that their lighthearted conversation would be their last.

That’s often how these things happen. The final conversation between two people isn’t necessarily profound when it takes place. Sometimes it’s just a few words about family, work or whatever happens to be going on that day.

Only later does it become something much bigger. For Jordan, those messages offered a small reminder of a friendship that meant a great deal to him.

He had plenty of memories of Bryant as a basketball player. The two competed against each other, shared advice and developed a connection that lasted well beyond their playing days.

But the last exchange was about something more ordinary. A bottle of tequila, the family and a youth basketball game.

And when Jordan was asked about it in 2021, nearly 16 months after Bryant’s death, he still couldn’t bring himself to hit delete.