Much has been said about the personal brand of individuals. It has been a hot topic in recent years. One of the great personal branding flops has been in the public eye for years.
Enter basketball great Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Its monumental failure to become a great brand is largely attributed to a predecessor who has one of the strongest personal brands in the world.
Enter NBA legend Michael Jordan, formerly of the Chicago Bulls.
The general theme is this: Michael Jordan was original and Kobe Bryant is an imitation. But there is more to the story than that, and it contains lessons for professionals in businesses other than sports. Learn from Bryant’s mistakes and you’ll likely avoid the same fate.
From a professional performance standpoint on the court, the discrepancy between Bryant and Jordan shouldn’t be that big. Bryant has put up some great numbers during his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, including winning his fifth NBA championship, just one behind Jordan with the Chicago Bulls.
Bryant has scored more than 25,000 points and will likely match or exceed Jordan’s career total of 32,000 points. Bryant also stunned the basketball world in January 2006 when he scored a staggering 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, dwarfing Jordan’s 73-point performance years earlier. It was the second highest scoring night in NBA history; only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points in a 1962 game were greater. (Some sports analysts said Bryant’s performance was even more impressive than Chamberlain’s.)
Lastly, Bryant has proven to be just as competitive and professionally disciplined as Jordan. His work ethic and his refusal to drop any play during any game is evident.
And what has Kobe Bryant gotten out of all this? Just one MVP award compared to Michael Jordan’s six. He has received far fewer product endorsements, while Jordan continues to endorse Hanes underwear and other products years after his retirement. And virtually all NBA broadcasters and analysts still keep Michael Jordan in separate company. It was a huge milestone for Bryant when television pundits acknowledged during this year’s NBA playoffs that Bryant should “at least be part of the conversation” about whether his greatness equals Jordan’s.
Have you just earned the right to be part of the conversation? After all those achievements?
Yes, and here’s why. From Kobe Bryant’s early days in the league, his admiration for Jordan was evident because he closely emulated MJ’s style of play. Everything about Bryant’s attitude said that he was determined to become the next Michael Jordan, to prove that he was just as good as the man considered the greatest of all time. Maybe even better.
And that meant the end of any chance Kobe Bryant had to create a brand of his own, one that could match or exceed Jordan’s and stand the test of time.
Compare that to the experience of Michael Jordan. Jordan was original, in part because the superstars who immediately preceded him, Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics and Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers, were very different players stylistically. Bird and Johnson were wonderful talents, to be sure, but Jordan brought an athleticism and stamina the league had never seen until Bryant came along.
There were other factors that made Jordan such an indomitable brand. He set several trademarks, including changing the NBA’s attire. Jordan, still in love with his college basketball uniform, wore his University of North Carolina shorts and jersey under his Bulls uniform. To hide the shorts and avoid violating the NBA’s dress code, Jordan began wearing baggy shorts. The entire National Basketball Association soon followed his lead.
Jordan’s much warmer, more playful personality and electric grin also made for better media.
This two-person drama is a testament to the power of personal branding. A strict numerical analysis of the two players would certainly put Bryant and Jordan on the same high pedestal. But that’s only half the story. Factor in their personal bests though, and Jordan wins in a blowout.
There are several lessons that can be drawn from this saga. They include:
>> A lasting personal brand requires originality.
>> Mimicking an icon is a surefire path to finishing a distant second or third.
>> Pay close attention to both your contemporaries and your predecessors.
>> Differentiate yourself.
>> Establish some signs of distinction.
>> Be aware of the subtext created by every word and action.
>> Don’t underestimate the importance of personality.
You can bet Kobe Bryant would have drafted a different game plan if he could go back to the beginning of his career.