LeBron James Talks About Relationship With Michael Jordan

James, who wears No. 23 in honor of Jordan, discussed his relationship with both Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant.

Lakers forward LeBron James takes a pass during a game against the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 3, 2025, in Los Angeles. Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo

When it comes to the face of the NBA, there’s a baton that’s clearly been passed over the last 35 years. It has gone from Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant to LeBron James, with many fans and basketball experts placing those three on their Mount Rushmore of the NBA.

Any time there is discussion about the relationships among the three, many people take notice. On Wednesday on the “Pat McAfee Show,” James was asked about his relationship with Jordan—whom James infamously donned the No. 23 jersey in honor of, starting with his high school days and continuing today with the Lakers.

“We’re in a good spot. We don’t talk,” James responded before McAfee followed up and asked why.

“Because I’m still playing, still focused on my craft right now.”

James then said he would hope to have more of a relationship with Jordan once he retires, then made a parallel to James’ relationship with Bryant.

“Me and Kobe never had a real relationship either, until we were on the Olympic team, had a great relationship there. Olympic team [2008], Olympic team [2012]. But it was always competitive between us. I was on the East Coast, he was on the West Coast,” James said before stating that he messed up in 2009 by not winning the Eastern Conference Finals versus the Orlando Magic, which would have set up an NBA Finals meeting with Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Until I became a Laker [in 2018] ... that’s when our relationship became really, really good. He welcomed me and called me and was like, ‘Bro, anything you need in L.A., I got you. You’re a Laker now, you’re family.’ We would have multiple conversations.”

There is a bittersweet connection between James and Bryant that happened over the span of less than 24 hours in January 2020. On Jan. 25, James passed Bryant on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, moving into third place in a Lakers win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Bryant congratulated James in a tweet. The game took place in Philly,  where Bryant was born, adding even more sentiment to the occasion.

But the next day, Bryant and eight others were killed in a helicopter crash in the Los Angeles area, which sent shockwaves that are still felt today. That tweet from Bryant congratulating James was the former’s final tweet and remains at the top of his Twitter/X page.

James is hopeful that his relationship with Jordan also makes strides, and James thinks once he’s no longer chasing Jordan, in some respects, things will smooth over.

“I think it’s because I’m still playing, and we all know M.J.—if you don’t know him personally—he’s one of the most ruthless competitors there is,” James said. “Until I’m done, and he doesn’t have to look at me run up and down wearing the No. 23, and every time my name is mentioned, it’s mentioned with his, he’s like ‘I don’t want to ... talk to you.’”

Perhaps no player other than Wilt Chamberlain had a stranglehold on the NBA record books like Jordan did, until James came along. In 2017, James surpassed Jordan as the all-time leading scorer in NBA playoff history, and in 2019, James passed Jordan for fourth place on the all-time regular season scoring list.

Then this year in January, James topped Jordan again as the former recorded his 563^rd game with at least 30 points, breaking Jordan’s NBA record. One month later, James broke another of his idol’s records by scoring 42 points in a win over the Golden State Warriors. That made the 40-year-old James the oldest player in league history with a 40-point game, breaking Jordan’s mark, which had stood since 2003.

Many think James’s achievements throughout his career have allowed him to top Jordan as the greatest player in NBA history. Given the ruthless, competitive nature that Jordan was known for, that could be the reason for a bit of iciness between the two.

Time is known to heal all wounds, and time could also allow a somewhat-cold relationship to thaw out a bit.

As for the last relationship among the three faces of the NBA—the one between Jordan and Bryant—it was clear at the latter’s memorial service that it was a close one. Jordan described an almost big brother/little brother relationship with Bryant, who was 15 years younger than Jordan, with the Lakers great often calling Jordan at odd hours for advice. Jordan expressed how much Bryant meant to him when he said, “When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died.”