Mon Jun 29, 2009 2:20 pm EDT

In a special commemorative edition of TIME on Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant thinks back on his relationship with the "King of Pop":
"One of the things he always told me was, don't be afraid to be different. In other words, when you have that desire, that drive, people are going to try to pull you away from that, and pull you closer to the pack to be 'normal.' And he was saying, It's O.K. to be that driven; it's O.K. to be obsessed with what you want to do. That's perfectly fine. Don't be afraid to not deviate from that. One of the books that he gave me that helped him communicate with me was "Jonathan Livingston Seagull," which was about that.
Beyond the genius of what he was, he was just a genuinely, genuinely nice person. He got me hooked on movies that I would normally never watch. Fred Astaire movies. All the old classics. I would never, never watch those. I remember my fiancée and I telling him we were getting married, and him just being really excited and actually just offering up the ranch to have our wedding there, because privacy was going to be an issue. We wanted to get married in a church, so that's what we wound up doing. But he made the offer. He was just a genuinely nice person who was exceptionally bright, exceptionally bright, and driven and talented. You mix those things together, man, you have Michael Jackson."
Ball Don't Lie is an NBA blog edited by J.E. Skeets. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

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220 Comments
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kobe byrant type dunk
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Mike was innocent the whole time..That kid is gonna get his a$$ kicked
http://www.techbanyan.com/4554/jordan-chandler-admits-lied-about-michael-jackson/
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seriously though- enough w/ Michael Jackson already. He lived 50 yrs., about 30 as a human being and 20 as whatever the heck he was since like 1990. I feel for his family and loved ones, as I would never wish death on anybody- except maybe a murder... or child molestor. He was a great musician of his time, but not a very good person, period, end of story. Nice words from Kobe and all; but I'd bet he never left his kids alone w/ Jacko...
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thanks for somebody actually having the balls to say how they- and (let's be honest) pretty much everybody- really felt about Wacko Jacko; I was wondering how long it'd take for the political correctness of this story to wear off. Now we can talk about the death of someone who was still actually somewhat entertaining and/or helpful to society (rather than a simply disgusting excuse for a human being)- the greatest salesman of our time, Billy Mayes- R.I.P. Billy...
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Why is that everyone feels the need to say something good about a BAD person (no pun intended). And why do people call him a genius, because he could walk backwards and call it a dance? He was a tabloid headline and yet another tragic case of a child star overwhelmed by success. $400 million in debt. Nice.
And a great musician? If this is the case of being a musician, then Brittney, Back Street, Lady GaGa, NSync, Janet, etc. and so on will be remembered as great musicians. Please. What instrument did he play? Well except for the.....okay, won't go there. He was an entertainer. Whether it was his MTV videos (and how long ago was that) or perfomrances on stage at the Grammys, he was just a n entertainer. At 50 years old, and being dead azz broke, not even Las Vegas would hire him. What does that tell you about his drawing power? His upcoming concert would have been a frenzy of cancelled shows because drained emotions and physical exhaustion.
Maybe they can re-name it the Michael Jackson Ressurection Tour 2010.......he would look like his Thriller Zombie character, it would be an mprovement over how he looked at death.
And why are so many people hung up on this guy's death. He was a freak and worst yet, a pedophile. Why do so many people defend his honor when he is dead. Would you leave your kids with someone like this?
And besides Thriller, how many of his other albums garnished top 10 hits and success? If you guys miss Mikey so much, you always have his look-a-like Latoya to pine over.
Enough of Michael Jackson articles. Good bye and good riddance.
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Billy must be in heaven today because I noticed all the dark clouds started to turn white.
And thanks Darkness.
I know it will come under fire from all the lovers of Wacko, but then again to love him and defend him, is a real sign to seek professional mental help.
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