Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant head-to-head, iconic battles and on-court friendship

Kobe Bryant started playing for the NBA right when Michael Jordan was nearing the end of his career. The Last Dance's latest episode focuses on the Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan's 1998 All-Star Game, which is one out of their few matchups. While Bryant has one less NBA championship than Jordan, he and the Los Angeles Lakers have a 5-3 win-loss record during their games against Michael Jordan.

The Lakers won four games out of eight games in the 2000s when Jordan was with the Washington Wizards and the Lakers were championship contenders. The both never played an NBA Final together and were part of three NBA All-Star games together (1998, 2002 and 2003).

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Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant head-to-head on December 17, 1996: Bulls win 129-123

• Michael Jordan: 30 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block while shooting 10-of-32 from the field, 10-of-14 from the free-throw line and 0-of-2 from the three-point range. 
• Kobe Bryant: 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 block while shooting 2-of-5 from the field and 1-of-2 from the three-point range.

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Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant head-to-head on February 5, 1997: Bulls lose 106-90

• Michael Jordan: 27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block while shooting 10-of-24 from the field, 5-of-6 from the free-throw line and 2-of-5 from the three-point range. 
• Kobe Bryant: 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block while shooting 2-of-7 from the field and1-of-2 from three-point range.

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Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant head-to-head on December 17, 1997: Bulls win 104-83

• Michael Jordan: 36 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block while shooting 12-of-22 from the field, 11-of-12 from the free-throw line and 1-of-2 from the three-point range. 
• Kobe Bryant: 33 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists while shooting 12-of-20 from the field, 6-of-9 from the free-throw line and 3-of-5 from three-point range. 

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Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant head-to-head on February 1, 1998: Bulls lose 112-87

• Michael Jordan: 31 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal while shooting 11-of-26 from the field, 9-of-12 from the free-throw line and 0-of-1 from the three-point range.
• Kobe Bryant: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals while shooting 7-of-16 from the field, 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-6 from the three-point range.

Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant head-to-head on February 12, 2002: Wizards lose 103-94

• Michael Jordan: 22 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block while shooting 8-of-20 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line
• Kobe Bryant: 23 points, 11 rebounds, 15 assists, 1 steal, 1 block while shooting 9-of-20 from the field, 5-of-9 from the free-throw line and 0-of-1 from three-point range. 

Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant head-to-head on April 2, 2002: Wizards lose 113-93

• Michael Jordan: 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists while shooting 1-of-5 from the field.
• Kobe Bryant: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists while shooting 6-of-13 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.

Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant head-to-head on November 8, 2002: Wizards win 100-99

• Michael Jordan: 25 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals while shooting 9-of-14 from the field and 7-of-12 from the free-throw line. 
• Kobe Bryant: 27 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks while shooting 8-of-21 from the field and 11-of-11 from the free-throw line.

Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant head-to-head on March 28, 2003: Wizards lose 108-94

• Michael Jordan: 23 points, 4 assists, 1 steal while shooting 10-of-20 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line
• Kobe Bryant: 55 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals while shooting 15-of-29 from the field, 9-of-13 from three-point range and 16-of-18 from the free-throw line.