But by the time our chat was done, Kobe had me for life. He was open, honest, confident and, above all, genuine. Michael Jordan had brought the hype of basketball to Australia; Kobe would ensure it never waned. I walked out of the Opera House with a brand-new pair of KB8s, boots I still have to this day. There is a reason I have kept them for over 20 years. Not because they helped my vertically challenged basketball game, and not because they looked cool – though they certainly did back in the day. Still relatively unknown, Bryant held camps in Sydney and made a promotional appearance at the Opera House back in August, 1998. Credit:Getty But because they have been, and always will be, a lasting memory of a day when I got in on the ground floor and chatted like a mate with a kid destined for greatness. Michael Cowley was a sports reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald from1984-2012. Below is his report from the interview with Kobe Bryant as it appeared on August 19, 1998.

Air apparent With Michael Jordan on the verge of retirement, his replacement in the firmament may have been in Sydney yesterday. MICHAEL COWLEY reports. Star in the making: Bryant at the Opera House in 1998. Credit:Getty He's the heir to The Air. The Air Apparent. Michael Jordan may be the king, but in Kobe Bryant, basketball has a ready-made prince.

Still four days shy of the end of his teenage years, Bryant is the NBA's next big thing. Like Mike, he defies gravity. Like Mike, he has all the jaw-dropping moves. Mike has age and experience. Bryant has youth and exuberance. I'm going to be the next Jordan and win six championships. Kobe Bryant, 1998 And even the shoes, the ultimate status symbol which shows a sportsman has "made it". Jordan has his Nikes, and at 18, Bryant signed a $20 million deal with adidas. "Cool . . . I'm going to be the next Jordan and win six championships," said Bryant, in Australia this week to run a series of camps with Andrew Gaze.

But, along with the hype for the Los Angeles Laker, comes the expectation. "I don't feel the pressure. My father [an eight-year NBA veteran] always taught me when I was growing up that the pressure that you feel is the pressure you put on yourself," Bryant said. "I just follow my own expectations and don't get caught up in what everyone else is saying. That's how you fall short. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video "All I have to do is keep doing the things that got me to this point. It would be easy to get caught up in it all, but that's why you set goals. The pressure that everybody puts on you goes in one ear and out the other. My father played with so much passion, and that's one thing he has instilled in me." It's easy to glide past the fact that Bryant is only 19 with two years in the big league (straight from high school) - such is his maturity and wisdom.

Loading In 1996, he became the second youngest player ever to be drafted into the NBA, after a high school career netted him a record 2,883 points, more than 500 more than Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain. "It was a tough decision to make. I wanted to play NBA, and I wanted to go to college," he said of cutting out college en route to the NBA. "I had to make a decision that I was 110 per cent sure. My heart led me the right way. "It was the challenge that pushed me over the edge to the NBA. I couldn't live with myself at the age of 70, looking back, and saying: `Would I have made it straight out of high school? Would I have flopped, or could I have made it?' I couldn't deal with it in the back of my mind." In half a century's time, he's likely to be able to look back at one highlight reel after another, after deciding to accept a three-year, $3.65 million deal with one of the world's best known sporting franchises, the Lakers.

On November 3, 1996, at the age of 18 years, two months, 11 days, with the basketball world transfixed, Bryant trotted onto court against the Minnesota Timberwolves to become the youngest player in NBA history. "It was great. I was playing with Shaq [O'Neal] and he took the spotlight, and other people's expectations, off me," Bryant said. "I was able to sneak in through the back door while everyone was watching him." Bryant plays a didgeridoo during his trip to Sydney in 1998. Credit:Getty If they missed his entrance, they soon discovered his talent for defying gravity, when later that season Bryant became the youngest player to win the NBA's slam dunk contest. "I started dunking when I was 14," he explained. "And I said that once I start, I'll never stop. Dunking is something I love."

While the Bulls consistently pack their house with fans clamouring to see Michael and his mates, teams such as the Lakers and the New York Knicks pack their rooms with celebrities. "I like it in LA," Bryant said. "It's great. At every game there's somebody new in. Jim Carrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pamela Anderson, Jack Nicholson is usually there. It's great to see them come out and pay their respect to you for something that you do. You pay your respect to them all the time by watching them on TV. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video "And if you go to the grocery store, you never know who you might see. You go shopping and might see Vanessa Williams. It's weird, but it's cool." Having buckets of money at such a minor age has frequently been the start of the destruction of young athletes. Mention this and the pearls begin to flow: "How Kobe Bryant deals with the hype and money is firstly to put all the money in the bank.