Michael Jordan went from being LeBron James‘ childhood idol to now, in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career, the basketball figure whose James’ resume is most often judged against.
James opened up about the current relationship between him and Jordan as part of a long-ranging interview that aired Wednesday on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
While James characterized their dynamic being in “a good spot,” he admitted there is distance between them.
“We don’t talk,” James said during the hour and 15-minute interview that was taped at McAfee’s studio outside Indianapolis on Tuesday. “Because I’m still playing. I’m still playing, I’m still focused on my craft right now.”
James said, “I would hope so,” when asked if he believed a rapport could blossom between him and Jordan after the Los Angeles Lakers star retires — similarly to the way James became closer to Kobe Bryant after Bryant finished his playing career.
“The funny thing is, me and Kobe — the late, great Kob,’ obviously — me and Kobe never had a real relationship either,” James said. “We were on the [USA] Olympic team, we had a great relationship there. The Olympic team in ’08, the Olympic team in ’12, but it was always competitive between us. We were always like, I was on the East Coast, he was on the West Coast, and it was like even though … in ’09 and we didn’t beat Orlando and didn’t get an opportunity to play him in the Finals [there was a competitive friction].”
James said that first began to change in 2016 when Bryant retired and continued to evolve when he signed with L.A. as a free agent in the summer of 2018.
“That’s when our relationship became really, really good,” James said. “He welcomed me. He called me, like, ‘Bro, anything you need in L.A., I got you. You’re a Laker now. You’re family.’ And we would have multiple conversations. Obviously, you guys saw him coming to a lot of games. … And when I passed him for the scoring record in Philly, he had a tweet out there like, ‘Keep on going.’ Like, ‘Keep transcending the game. Keep going.’ And that s— meant so much to me.”
James and Jordan did come together to share a memorable embrace at halftime of the 2022 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland when the league honored the league’s 75th Anniversary Team.
“That was dope,” James said. “That’s straight respect, admiration and me, for sure, I wear 23 because of MJ. And the inspiration that he gave me as a kid in Akron, Ohio who don’t have much inspiration in your hometown.”
However, so long as James, 40, is still an active player and continues to stack his resume to be able to compare to Jordan — a six-time champion, five-time MVP and 10-time scoring champ — he doesn’t expect the relationship with the 62-year-old Jordan to change.
“I think it’s because I’m still playing,” James continued. “And MJ, we all know MJ. Even if you don’t know him personally, he is one of the most ruthless competitors there is and until I’m done and he doesn’t have to look at me running up and down wearing the No. 23 and every time my name is mentioned, it’s mentioned with his, [a relationship will have to wait].”
Among the many topics James also touched on with McAfee was how his son, Bronny James, has developed throughout his rookie season with the Lakers.
“For me as a dad, it doesn’t matter if he never scores, ever. For me as a dad, I’m just super proud of him period, as a young man. For me as a mentor and as a teammate of his that wants to see him thrive because I have seen the work he’s put into the game, I am super proud of his development to where he is now,” James said. “From the moment that he was drafted … to now … his development has skyrocketed.”
Bronny, who the Lakers selected with the No. 55 pick in the second round after his freshman season at USC, scored a season-high 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting for the Lakers last week. He followed that up by scoring 39 points on 14-for-21 shooting Monday for the South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League affiliate.
“Super proud of Bronny,” James said. “Super proud of his game and where he is today, starting off the G League season with just trying to figure it out and now, 39 [points] and even when I talked to him, he was more pissed off at the technical free throw that he missed more than anything. He was like, ‘I could have had a 40 ball, and I missed that damn technical free throw.’ So, the kid, he’s awesome.”
It’s a long way from where Bronny was even in October when he made his debut for the Lakers on opening night in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves less than a year and a half after he suffered a cardiac arrest because of a congenital heart defect, requiring corrective surgery.
“Us going out on the floor and having that moment, physically I wasn’t even there,” James said. “I wasn’t even there. I’m floating. I could only imagine where Bronny was. We haven’t even talked about it yet. At some point we will. But I wasn’t even there. I was so [overjoyed], I might have been in the rafters. I might have been at home — my body might have been at home watching the game and watching the moment. I completely was not there.
“But, damn, that was an unbelievable moment, man, for me to be able to have that dream, be able to speak it into existence, for it to come to fruition. For my mom and my wife and my daughter and my youngest son to be there, I started thinking about everything from what the hell he went through less than a year before with his cardiac arrest.”
James’ youngest son, 17-year-old Bryce, is coming off a state championship during his senior season with Sierra Canyon and is committed to play basketball for the University of Arizona in the fall. James, who is in his 22nd season, was asked if he could see himself staying in the NBA long enough to play alongside both of his sons.
“Don’t do that to me,” James said with a smile.
