Kobe Bryant wanted to join Michael Jordan on Wizards

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant wanted to join Michael Jordan on the Washington Wizards in 2004.

Kobe Bryant has been with the Los Angeles Lakers throughout his entire career to this point, but there was a time when he seriously considered leaving. Back when Michael Jordan was playing for the Washington Wizards, Bryant wanted to join him when he hit the free agent market in 2004.

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It would have been very strange to see Bryant sign with the Wizards, but it would have been awesome to see both Bryant and Jordan playing alongside each other.

Both players have very similar skill-sets, and it is very obvious that Bryant modeled his game after Jordan’s. Jordan ended up retiring after the 2003 season, and it was unclear whether or not he would have stuck around as a player or simply a figure in the Wizards’ organization if Bryant had signed with the Wizards.

Washington would likely have come away with some championships if Bryant had signed with them, rather than the Lakers getting all of those titles. It would have completely changed the landscape of the NBA, and made the Wizards one of the best franchises in the 2000’s. That being said, it didn’t happen and Bryant went ahead and continued his legacy with the Lakers.

Bryant talked with Michael Lee of the Washington Post about his plans to sign with the Wizards in 2004.

“We would’ve put together a great team and we would’ve won championships,” Bryant said. “Listen, man. There are not a lot of players in this league that say, ‘Come hell or high water, we’re going to get this [expletive] done.’ People can look around and joke around about winning, saying they want to win. For me, it’s a matter of life or death. It was that important to me. And if it’s that important to me, I’m going to get there.”

At 36 years of age, Bryant is close to winding down the end of his career. It will be a sad day when he decides to call it a career, but he has left his mark on the game and will forever be remembered as one of the best to ever play the game of basketball.

Throughout his 19-year NBA career, Bryant has put up impressive averages of 25.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He was one of the most dominant scorers late in the game that the NBA has ever seen as well. Los Angeles has had quite a few stars before Bryant, but he is number one on quite a few lists.

All of that being said, this is still a very intriguing story and it brings up quite a few thoughts about what could have been.

H/T Bleacher Report

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