During a guest appearance on the All The Smoke podcast, former NBA sharpshooter Craig Hodges offered rare insight into the contrasting mindsets and skill sets of two of basketball’s greatest icons—Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Hodges, who played alongside Jordan with the Bulls and later worked with Bryant as a shooting coach on the Lakers, began by describing the obsessive preparation Kobe put into his game.
“He would call me and say, ‘Hodge, we need some work in the morning,'” Hodges recalled, noting Kobe’s 6:30 AM workouts focusing solely on the four spots he planned to dominate that night: “Box, box, elbow, wing.”
According to Hodges, the primary physical difference between Jordan and Bryant came down to hand size.
“Right hand,” he said when asked by Matt Barnes what separated them. “Because when Kobe would be going to the line to shoot two, MJ was going to shoot one.”
Hodges explained that Jordan’s massive hands allowed him to manipulate the ball in ways Kobe couldn’t, referencing how MJ could transfer the ball to his off-hand in midair with ease.
On the mental side, Hodges described both as relentless, but pointed out Kobe’s deep study of the game.
He shared a story of Bryant drawing full court diagrams during a team flight to Spain, mapping out opposing defenses and identifying spots where his teammates would be open.
“He had like 30 different courts,” Hodges said. “He wasn’t even worried about the guy guarding him. He was looking at the third defender.”
The former three-time NBA three-point contest champion also remembered how Kobe mimicked Jordan’s mannerisms so precisely that it was “like watching Michael.”
Still, Hodges saw one key philosophical difference.
“Kobe would give you kudos if you getting better,” Hodges said. “That—I didn’t see that. I didn’t feel that with MJ.”
According to him, while Jordan’s ultra-competitive demeanor helped push teammates, it sometimes came at the cost of morale.
“I’ve seen how many players went the other direction because of how he demoralized them with his bravado,” Hodges said.
Hodges praised Bryant’s ability to elevate teammates individually and create a shared belief.
“If I can get everybody to play at their greatest—not Kobe great, but their own—ain’t nobody gonna beat us,” Bryant once told him.
