http://www.basketball-reference.com/fc/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=bryanko01&p2=jordami01 Found this random piece of info for fun, apparently Kobe at 19 off the bench took the Bulls to the woodshed in his sophomore season. :] [video=youtube;TC-kKQMue4g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC-kKQMue4g[/video] 3:26 in, "Michael Jordan will tell you that Kobe Bryant is the future of the NBA. You're looking at the present and future." Kobe finished with 33 points in 29 minutes, he got hot obviously combined with some mediocre defense.
[video=youtube;ju_rG3DtBnM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju_rG3DtBnM[/video] That's the second game they went head to head, while Jordan was still in his winning years.
First time I heard this too, Kobe's name means "supplanter" (sounds like "heir" ). http://www.babynology.com/meaning-kobe-m0.html