Michael Jordan jokes at Kobe Bryant's funeral, netizens recall 'crying' meme

Basketball legend Michael Jordan gave a tearful speech at the Staples Center on February 24 in the honour of Kobe Bryant and made an unexpected joke. Speaking about his relationship with Kobe, Jordan said that his “little brother” was a “nuisance” at first that turned into “love” over a period of time.

“What Kobe Bryant was to me was the inspiration that someone truly cared about the way either I played the game or the way that he wanted to play the game,” said Jordan. 

“He wanted to be the best basketball player that he could be. And as I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be,” he added.

During the heart-wrenching speech, Jordan joked about his teary eyes while referring to a famous ‘crying Jordan’ meme that took the internet by storm a few years ago. “Now he’s got me (crying) and I'll have to look at another crying meme for the next…I told my wife I wasn't gonna do this cause I didn't want to see that for the next three or four years,” said Jordan.

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'Crying Jordan'

Jordan was inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame and during his speech at the ceremony in September 2009, he started crying. However, the pictures went viral in late 2015 in the form of memes and social media referred to it as ‘crying Jordan’. There was an uproar of laughter in the auditorium when Jordan mentioned it. Check out how social media reacted to the reference:

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Last month, Kobe was travelling to Mamba Sports Academy along with his daughter Gianna Bryant and eight others when the helicopter crashed and burst into flames. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva had said that there will an extensive investigation into the accident which could take a ‘great deal of time’.

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