--- description: Bryant is set to retire at the end of the 2015–16 season title: Michael Jordan Pays Tribute to Kobe Bryant in Video image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Basketball](/tag/basketball/) ## Basketball Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch Michael Jordan Pay Tribute to Kobe Bryant in Pregame Video by [Sports Illustrated](/author/sports-illustrated/) ## Sports Illustrated Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 29, 2015 2:10 AM CUT by [Sports Illustrated](/author/sports-illustrated/) ## Sports Illustrated Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 29, 2015 2:10 AM CUT Michael Jordan paid tribute to [Kobe Bryant](http://www.si.com/nba/player/kobe-bryant "undefined") in a pregame[ video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxT9lzEV0s8 "undefined") before Monday night’s matchup between the Los Angeles [Lakers ](http://www.si.com/nba/team/los-angeles-lakers "undefined")and Charlotte [Hornets.](http://www.si.com/nba/team/charlotte-hornets "undefined") “I’m a big fan,” said Jordan, who was not in attendance Monday night at The Time Warner Cable Arena. “I still love watching you play.” In the [video, ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxT9lzEV0s8 "undefined")Jordan also calls Bryant a “big help to the game of basketball,” and refers to him as a little brother. “We are very proud of what you have accomplished over the years,” Jordan added. “Have a great game. But not too good​” Jordan, who is now the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, played against Bryant in the latter part of his illustrious NBA career. Bryant, 37, is set to retire at the end of the 2015–16 season. See Jordan’s message to Bryant above. [_This article originally appeared on SI.com_](http://www.si.com/nba/2015/12/28/michael-jordan-kobe-bryant-tribute-video-hornets-lakers "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4162829/michael-jordan-tribute-kobe-bryant/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4162829/michael-jordan-tribute-kobe-bryant/"},"headline":"Watch Michael Jordan Pay Tribute to Kobe Bryant in Pregame Video","datePublished":"2015-12-29T02:10:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:40:14.701Z","description":"Bryant is set to retire at the end of the 2015–16 season","url":"https://time.com/4162829/michael-jordan-tribute-kobe-bryant/","keywords":["Basketball"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sports Illustrated","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sports-illustrated/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/basketball/","name":"Basketball"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4162829/michael-jordan-tribute-kobe-bryant/","name":"Watch Michael Jordan Pay Tribute to Kobe Bryant in Pregame Video"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Kobe Bryant Announces Retirement","description":"He's played for the Los Angeles Lakers for two decades","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/BafIcSKs/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-11-30T09:36:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BafIcSKs.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4162829/michael-jordan-tribute-kobe-bryant/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4162829/michael-jordan-tribute-kobe-bryant/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```