The NBA has many elite shooting guards in history, but the two always stand out. These two were Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. They overlapped a bit during their careers, allowing some players to compete against both.
As a shooting security guard in the 1990s and early 2000s, Mitch Richmond was a great player. He was a six-time All-Star in his career, shining mainly with the Golden State Warriors as part of the Run TMC Trio and the Sacramento Kings.
During his career he was a player who played against many top shooting guards like Clyde Drekler, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.
This experience has led Richmond to play against all these top shooting guards and have all their memories. He played against Jordan with his Prime and Bryant during his dominance, so he saw these two superstar shooting guards follow a click.
Both of these superstars are often compared to each other. Especially because Bryant emulated Jordan throughout his career. It also made them observe their traits and even how they defended them against both players.
During their careers, Jordan and Bryant had many similarities. They were extremely hardworking players as they were always working on everybody in real life. They had a long list of accomplishments, as both players were obsessed with victory.
They were also similar to how they played because they were hyper-athletic early in their careers, but they also had a natural knack for scoring. As they matured, they became more dominant in the midrange area with turnaround fadeaways.
They shared coaches with Phil Jackson. Phil Jackson was a tactician for all 11 championships between Jordan and Bryant. Jackson preferred Jordan over the other players, but the fact that Bryant is mentioned shows his quality.
Richmond gave some context about how both players performed in court. They continued to show off their way of thinking with a fierce hunger for victory. Jordan even became Kobe’s leader as the latter contacted older security guards regularly. That’s why Bryant, like Kyrie Irving, has also coached young players.
“If you hadn’t let Michael work, he would have been ashamed of you. One thing, he would come to you every night. You know, Kobe had the same thing,” Richmond said once in an interview.
“All the greats had it. They were thirsty to score. It’s, I have to get that bucket. You have to go your defender, ‘This guy is crazy.’ You need to have that mindset, just like I was going to get a bucket. ”
The NBA continues to have many top-tier shooting guards. Anthony Edwards is the latest superstar to play the position, and he already shows the influence of Jordan and Bryant. He has that killer mentality that both legends had during their performance careers.
Edwards is not the only player to learn and follow his footsteps. Jordan and Bryant may have left the NBA long ago, but their influence is still felt. The league continues to embody the influence of the previous generation, so it is in good hands with current players.
Young players continue to learn from it as people like Mitch Richmond tell stories about the previous generation. They know the legacy of these iconic players, which will stick with them for the rest of their careers.