Photo: Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune

Magic Johnson opened up about the ‘special relationship’ between NBA legends Michael Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant.

According to Johnson, the famous matchup in the 1998 All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden began a profound relationship between the two icons.

“Kobe respected guys but it was different [with Michael]. It was like, ‘Man, I’m trying to be like you but I also want to show you what I got in this All-Star Game too’.

I loved the fact that I was there and I could witness it just like Larry [Bird] and I witnessed during the [1992] Olympics, how we were passing the torch to Michael,” the legendary Magic Johnson told Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times.

Episode 5 of “The Last Dance” will be dedicated to Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on January 26.