Kobe Bryant‘s brief appearance on “The Last Dance” was one of the most anticipated episodes. However, Jason Hehir, the documentary’s director, had to earn every bit of insight he got from the late Los Angeles Lakers icon.
“He was a tough nut to crack, man,” Hehir told “Jalen & Jacoby” about how difficult it was to interview Bryant for the series. “He’s competitive about everything. And he was going to make me earn the soundbite that we got for the doc. He wasn’t just going to sit there and start pouring out his sole. He was gonna make sure that I had the hammer and nail and try to crack him.”
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Hehir added that one reason the interview was difficult was that they did not have Bryant’s full attention, at least initially. It was around the time of the ESPYs, and the legendary guard was preparing a speech for Bill Russell, so he was preoccupied physically and mentally.
Moreover, he gave genuine answers, not just the kind of generic blabber viewers might expect. It’s not that Bryant was an unwilling participant. He was just making sure his words carried weight.
Kobe earned MJ’s respect
If there was anybody who embodied what “earning his stripes” meant, it was Bryant. He did that to get ahead of everyone since he entered the league.
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He had to prove his mettle to a veteran coach and equally experienced teammates, while seeking advice from Jordan himself. The Chicago Bulls legend did not just distribute handouts to anyone, but Brant eventually broke that barrier.
“You can’t learn if you don’t ask,” he said in 2019. “I know a lot of players were intimidated by him and called him ‘Black Jesus’ and all this other stuff. I wasn’t intimidated.”
“I think he understood my competitiveness. I think he was looking at my journey, too. It was a rough couple of years for me in coming to the league, because at the time, the league was so much older. It was not as young as it is today. Having teenagers or guys in their early 20s was not the norm. And so being an outsider from that standpoint, I think he wanted to provide a little help for me, a little direction for me,” added the five-time NBA champion.
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True enough, Jordan became Bryant’s mentor and the two developed a brotherly relationship founded on a healthy respect for one another. Mike even visited Kobe (and Phil Jackson) in the Lakers’ locker room during the former’s tenure with the Washington Wizards, something that he never did for others.
Kobe finally opened up
Bryant’s segment may have been short, but it was an important piece of the documentary puzzle. He wasn’t just another admirer but one of the rarest individuals whom Jordan trusted and viewed as an equal in terms of basketball skills.
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As Hehir spoke about the time he allegedly told Jordan he could beat him one-on-one, Bryant’s retort was full of insight.
“What you get from me is from him. I don’t get five championships here without him because he guided me so much and gave me so much great advice,” Bryant said in Episode 5 of “The Last Dance.”
Bryant may have made Hehir work for every answer, but that was true to who he was. He never wanted to waste words, just as he never wasted effort on the court when he was playing.
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That made his appearance in the documentary resonate even more. Sure, nostalgia played a part, but it mattered because Bryant, like Jordan before him, never gave away more than he meant to.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.