“I see a lot of myself in him. No doubt about it.”
—NBA legend Michael Jordan

“He has the ability to take the game over.”
—Former teammate Derek Fisher

“When Kobe focuses in, he’s a good defensive player. When he decides he’s not going to give any player anything, he will be the best.”
—Veteran NBA coach Jim Cleamons

“Nobody can guard Kobe one-on-one. Nobody.”
—Former Lakers coach Del Harris

“If there’s a player in the NBA who has a chance to be Michael Jordan, I believe this is the one player. He combines the talent with the same incredible work ethic.”
—Agent Arn Tellem

“Kobe’s a well balanced young man. He’s always stayed focused on what is important.”
—Pam Bryant

“Every play, you look at him and wonder, ‘What’s next?”
—Former teammate Eddie Jones

“He doesn’t make his game a personal game anymore.”
—Former teammate Rick Fox

“I’ve seen a lot of high school basketball, but I’ve never seen anyone as good as Kobe was.”
—Kobe’s high school coach Gregg Downer

“Kobe’s a model of what a young player should aspire to be. Year by year he learned and made his game more solid, and now he’s not just a highlight-film guy but an accomplished NBA player.”
—Former NBA head coach Larry Brown

"We have a deep-seated respect for each other. I marvel at this young man's competitive drive to reach excellence all the time and what he puts into every game, his ability to drive his team forward and make the game competitive night after night even when we've had disappointing endings."
—Lakers head coach Phil Jackson

“Kobe's range is unreal, and he does it his way.”
—Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

"He takes the type of shots where you don't think they're going in, but suddenly he's rolling, so he's kind of hard to stop.”
—All-Star Chris Bosh

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