Kobe Bryant claims he and Michael Jordan have been in constant contact since the summer, and the Hall of Fame guard is one of the first people he told about his final NBA season.

"[Jordan] is actually one of the first people that I told over the summer," Bryant told ESPN after he made his announcement official to the world on Sunday. "We've been in frequent contact."

Over his 20 NBA seasons, all with the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant has been compared to the former Chicago Bulls legend more than any other player. As he started to realize the end was near, Bryant felt a need to discuss retirement with his longtime idol.

One of the first questions the now 37-year-old Bryant remembered raising with the current Charlotte Hornets owner is how Jordan himself knew it was time to hang up his sneakers.

"We had some laughs, went back and forth about it," Bryant said. "But the important thing for him, he said, 'Just enjoy it. No matter what, just enjoy it. Don't let anybody take that away from you, no matter what happens, good or bad. Enjoy it, man.'"

Bryant also reflected that the NBA scene started to feel a bit strange to him, after he noticed he was lacing up to compete against players born after 1996, the year he entered the league.

"We were playing Portland and a kid from the bench said something to me like, 'We're going to beat you guys tonight,'" he recalled. "And I looked at him and I said, 'I got one rule. If you weren't born when I started playing, you can't talk trash. It's a simple rule.' And he looked at me and said, 'Yes, sir.' No argument."

Bryant has been sharing a locker room with a roster full of players nearly 20 years his junior.

The Lakers star added, "I feel like their grandfather. I'm not like the older guy. I'm like triple OG. LeBron [James] and those other guys are the old guys now, and I'm way older than them. So they're vets and I'm like a triple vet."

In all, Bryant has won five NBA titles and been named an All-Star 17 times.