Michael Jordan wasn’t masking his emotions during Monday’s celebration of life for fellow NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
The former Chicago Bull broke down in tears as he paid tribute to the late Laker at the memorial at LA’s Staples’ Center.
After talking about what a privilege it was to get to know Bryant, who he called his ‘little brother,’ a weeping Jordan took a second to lighten the mood.
‘Now I have to look at another crying meme…’ he said, nodding at the long-circulated ‘Crying Jordan’ meme – a beloved reaction image of the athlete breaking down during his 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
A moment of levity: A tearful Michael Jordan lightened the mood at Kobe Bryant’s public memorial with a well-timed reference the ‘Crying Jordan’ meme
Original: The meme started as a reaction image of the athlete breaking down during his 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony, seen above
Jordan’s tears flowed as he recounted his relationship with Bryant, describing him as a ‘little brother.’
‘I took great pride as I got to know Kobe Bryant, that he was just trying to be a better person, a better basketball player. We talked about business. We talked about family. We talked about everything. He was just trying to be a better person,’ Michael said.
Continuing to cry, the basketball great said: ‘I have to look at another crying meme for the next [few years]…’
The crowd erupted into applause at the reference.
Michael went on, saying: ‘I told my wife I wasn’t gonna do this…cause I didn’t [want to see this] for the next three or four years!’
‘That is what Kobe Bryant does to me,’ he went on.
Friendly competition: The friends and on-court rivals are seen together in 1997 above
Close connection: ‘I took great pride as I got to know Kobe Bryant, that he was just trying to be a better person, a better basketball player. We talked about business. We talked about family. We talked about everything. He was just trying to be a better person,’ Michael said
Meme time: Some examples of the viral image are seen above
Emotional: ‘That is what Kobe Bryant does to me,’ he went on
Embrace: He hugged Kobe’s wife Vanessa after speaking
Michael Jordan’s tribute to Kobe Bryant
‘I’m grateful to be here to honor Gigi and celebrate the gift that Kobe gave to us all. What he accomplished as a basketball player, as a business man, and a storyteller, and as a father. In the game of basketball, in life, and as a parent, Kobe left nothing in the tank. He left it all on the floor.
‘Maybe it’s a surprise to people that Kobe and I were very close friends, but we were very close friends. Kobe was my dear friend, he was like a little brother.
‘Everyone always wanted to talk about the comparisons between he and I. I just wanted to talk about Kobe.
‘You know all of us have brothers and sisters. Little brothers, little sisters, who for whatever reason tend to get into your stuff, your closet, your shoes, everything. It was a nuisance, if I could say that word.
Emotional: Michael Jordan was tearful as he paid tribute to Kobe Bryant during a celebration of his life on February 24 2020 at Los Angeles’ Staples Center
‘But that nuisance turned into love over a period of time. Just because the admiration that they had for you as big brother or big sister. The questions, the wanting to know every little detail about the life they were about to embark on. He used to call me, text me, at 11:30, 2:30 3o’clock in the morning. Talking about post up moves, footwork, and sometimes the triangle.
‘At first it was an aggravation. But then it turned into a certain passion. This kid had passion, like you would never know.
‘It’s an amazing thing about passion. If you love something, if you have a strong passion for something, you will go to the extreme to try to understand or try to get it. Either ice cream, Cokes, hamburgers, whatever you have a love for, if you have to walk, you would go get it. If you have to beg someone, you will get it.
‘What Kobe Bryant was to me, was the inspiration that someone truly cared about the way I either played the game or the way he wanted to play the game. He wanted to be the best basketball player that he could be. And as I got to know him I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be.
‘To do that, you had to put up with the aggravation, the late night calls, or the dumb questions.
‘I took great pride as I got to know Kobe Bryant, that he was just trying to be a better person, a better basketball player. We talked about business. We talked about family. We talked about everything. He was just trying to be a better person.
‘Now he’s got me, I’m going to have to look at another crying meme for the next… I told my wife I wasn’t going to do this ’cuz I didn’t want to see that for the next three or four years.
‘That’s how much Kobe meant to me. I’m pretty sure Vanessa and all his friends all can say the same thing. He knows how to get to you in a way that effects you personally, even though if he was being a pain in the a**, but you have a sense of love for him and
Bryant’s tribute was full of famous famous from both the entertainment and athletic world.
Superstar Beyonce looked to the heavens as she kicked off the day’s celebrations.
The pop star wore a golden suit as she gave passionate performances of her hits XO and Halo, supported by dozens of back up musicians.
Teammate: Kobe’s longtime teammate Shaquille O’Neal also spoke
Celebration of life: Beyonce looks to the heavens as she honors her late friend Kobe Bryant at his public memorial in Los Angeles on Monday
Powerful: Taking to the stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, she opened proceedings
Looking skyward as she sang, she blew kisses into the crowd, where Kobe’s wife Vanessa Bryant sat with her family.
‘I’m here because I love Kobe and this was one of his favorite songs,’ Beyonce shared with the huge crowd, asking them to sing along.
After Alicia Keys paid tribute to Kobe. The New York-born songstress took the stage to perform one of the NBA legend’s ‘favorite numbers’ during a celebration of life for the superstar athlete and his daughter Gianna in Los Angeles.
Keys, 39, donned a Lakers purple silk suit to perform a stirring rendition of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata backed by a small orchestra.
In loving memory: Alicia Keys performed an emotional rendition of the Beethoven classic Moonlight Sonata during a tribute to the late basketball star’s life held in LA on Monday
The goodbye: Christina Aguilera was the last performer at the celebration of life ceremony for Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna held inside the Staple Center in Los Angeles on Monday
As she performed, she looked to the sky and folded her hands in prayer, remembering the athlete.
Christina Aguilera was the last performer at the celebration of life ceremony for Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter.
The Grammy winning performer sung a very heartfelt version of Franz Schubert’s classic Ave Maria, all in Italian, with an orchestra behind her as well as dozens of red roses and white candles.
The sold-out service took place at the downtown arena where Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers for 17 seasons of his two-decade NBA career. Bryant and his daughter were among nine people killed January 26 in a helicopter crash.
Moving: Vanessa Bryant honored her daughter Gianna and husband Kobe in a speech
The concourse was a sea of people dressed in the team colors of purple and yellow and others in black. On the scoreboard, the Bryant family´s life flashes by in pictures: Bryant with his wife and Gianna, the whole family in costumes, Gianna on the court, baby pictures of Gianna and her father.
The service began just hours after Vanessa Bryant sued the owner of the helicopter that crashed in the fog last month. The wrongful-death lawsuit claimed that the pilot, Ara Zobayan, was careless and negligent by flying in cloudy conditions.
At the arena, fans were given a program containing photos, a purple KB pin and a T-shirt with photos of the father and daughter. The concourse was a sea of purple, gold and black clothing.
The service will feature speakers reflecting on Kobe Bryant’s impact on his sport and the world, along with music and retrospectives on Bryant’s on-court achievements. Bryant became active in film, television and writing after he retired from basketball in 2016.
Bryant’s family, dozens of sports greats and many major figures in Bryant’s public life were expected to attend.
Money from ticket sales was to be given to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which supports youth sports programs in underserved communities and teaches sports to girls and women.
Support: Beyonce sat at Vanessa’s side to support her as they mourned Kobe
Public ceremony: A private funeral was held for Kobe and Gianna Bryant in Orange County on February 7
Vendors sold flowers, Lakers scarves and commemorative newspapers and jerseys. Buses drove up and down Figueroa Street with their signs lit up with ‘RIP KOBE.’
Bryant played his entire 20-year NBA career with the Lakers, who moved from the Forum to Staples Center when it opened in 1999. The five-time NBA champion’s two retired jersey numbers – 8 and 24 – hang high above the arena where he became the third-leading scorer in league history until Lakers star LeBron James passed him on the night before Bryant’s death.
Bryant’s death caused an outpouring of grief across Los Angeles, where he remained the city’s most popular athlete into retirement. Dozens of public memorials and murals have been installed around the sprawling metropolis, and thousands of fans gathered daily outside Staples Center to commiserate after the crash.
Symbolic meanings will run throughout the ceremony, which will be held on a 24-foot-by-24-foot stage. Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s wife and Gianna’s mother, chose Feb. 24 as the date in honor of the uniform numbers of Kobe and Gianna, who wore No. 2 on her youth basketball teams.
A private funeral was held for Kobe and Gianna Bryant in Orange County on February 7.
Much missed: Kanye West, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, and Kris Jenner sit in the crowd
Tearful: Jennifer Lopez watches her friend Vanessa speak