The Minnesota Timberwolves superstar isn’t a fan of yelling at teammates to correct their mistakes.
Eleven combined NBA championships and eight combined Finals MVPs—Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant’s impact on basketball was—and still is—beyond description.
However, outside of the accolades, not everyone is truly a fan of their leadership approach and style. Effective? Yes, but it’s not something today’s generation has been quick to emulate.
The leadership style
As competitive players, Jordan and Bryant always wanted to win at all costs. Not being No. 1 wasn’t an option. They demanded the same competitive spirit from other players around them.
As the core of the legendary Chicago Bulls, Jordan, while being open to helping other players develop, wasn’t forgiving with a missed pass, open shot, or layup. His leadership style didn’t demand him to go easy on anyone, as he expected perfection.
Bryant, who worked his entire career to emulate the Bulls legend, didn’t deviate from the same approach. He was derogatory in practices, often raised his voice, and, on some occasions, was even physical with some of his teammates when he felt they weren’t doing enough.
“I can agree to disagree because, in today’s game, everybody’s different. You can’t talk to everybody the same,” said Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards. “You got to talk to players differently. Certain players can take it. I talk to some of my teammates like, ‘Hey, get your shit together.’ But some players, you got to go talk to them on the side. You can’t really cuss them out in front of everybody.”
Knowing how to lead
In the later stages of his career, No. 24 was plagued with injuries. He only played six games in the 2013-14 season and managed 35 games the following season. The Los Angeles Lakers lost 61 games in the 2014-15 season, the most in their history. During that season, the five-time NBA champion went off on his teammates during a workout scrimmage in December, calling them “soft like Charmin.”
Edwards, who many currently see as the next version of the legendary guards, embodies their style of play but isn’t a big fan of how they talk to players as leaders, saying there are certain methods to correct your teammates while not being too vocal about it.
“You just got to know how to do it,” added Ant-Man.
Of course, MJ and Bean’s personalities didn’t fit a kind and soft-spoken leadership style. They were serial winners with records to back it up. If they yelled at any player, it looked more or less justified that the player was wrong.