During the height of his feud with former Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal in the early 2000s, Kobe Bryant pondered a future away from Los Angeles and the banners, a place in Washington where his mentor Michael Jordan returned to play at age 38.
“That’s true,” Bryant confirmed via the Washington Post. “A long time ago? Yeah.”
Bryant, 36, felt the Wizards offered what was important to him at the time: an opportunity to establish his own legacy and turn a downtrodden franchise into a champion. Bryant yearned to prove everyone wrong and show the public that he could not win without O'Neal, and who better to help him grow than Jordan?
According to the report, after Jordan decided to sell his ownership stake and resume his playing career with the Wizards in 2001-02, Bryant informed him several times he wanted to play for the Wizards — assuming Jordan would return to an executive role once his playing days were over.
Unfortunately for the Wizards, they never had the assets to discuss a trade for Bryant. It wasn't until 2004 that the Wizards had a chance to sign Bryant, but those dreams were already dead when then-Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as Washington's president of basketball operations on May 7, 2003.
While Jordan’s ability to land Bryant was no guarantee, a person close to him said Jordan was “confident” he could have made it happen.
“We would’ve put together a great team and we would’ve won championships,” Bryant said.
Instead, Bryant's career could be done soon after he suffered a torn rotator cuff while carrying the dismal Lakers (12-33) squad.