The debate never dies. Who is better, Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant? The conversation emerged again amid Bryant surpassing Jordan for third place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. But there is also appreciation for Bryant’s legacy itself with five NBA championships in 19 NBA seasons regardless of how it matches up with Jordan’s six NBA titles in a 15-year career.
Former NBA coach and ESPN analyst George Karl, former NBA player and ESPN analyst Jalen Rose and former Lakers forward and NBA TV analyst Rick Fox offered some perspective on both Bryant and Jordan below.
What are the similarities between Kobe and Michael?
Karl: “The common thread for me is they’ve always been great competitors. They all have off the charts focus and they see and play a game probably with more intensity and mental focus than most players that ever played the game. Then you top that off with the fact that they are great athletes. Kobe is long and lean. But Michael was kind of powerful and could beat you with a rebound, could beat you with a defense, could beat you with a shot and could beat you with a pass in almost every way.”
Rose: “I like how they say the game of basketball in their interviews. It’s almost like Kobe got that from MJ. It’s their fundamentals. Somebody that has coached basketball, analyzed basketball and played basketball, there are certain things I watch for in players. They have one trait that shooting guards that has really been lost by that position. You have to dominate the boxes and the elbows and be able to catch the ball with a live dribble still available. A lot of young players catch the ball and just dribble the ball for no reason. Both of those guys get the ball, face up, jab step and triple threat and assess the situation. If you fall asleep, they’ll just jab and go to the right or go baseline and just dunk the ball without even any thought.”
What are the differences?
Karl: “I think Michael enjoyed operating the team. He didn’t have to be a dominant personality. I think Kobe likes to be the dominant personality. I don’t say that as a negative. But I thought Michael had more of a point guard mentality than Kobe does. But I’ll be honest with you. I was shocked that Kobe has more assists than Michael (Bryant has 6,046 assists while Jordan finished with 5,633). If you ask me who I thought would be a better passer, I would say it’s Michael. But it’s interesting Kobe is going to have more assists in the end.”
Rose: “The difference is that Kobe came in an era when the three-point shot was more prevalent. So he practiced more and has taken and made more. Jordan, it’s hard unless you’re Bill Russell, to say you’re a player who has been better defensively at any position. Imagine a guy out there averaging 30, but he’s also the best player defensively. Getting deflections and getting steals and getting blocks, helping the helper. So this is an era thing. We played in an era where you had to guard your man one-on-one. You couldn’t zone up. MJ played chest to chest and could cut you off to the base line and not allow you to drive past him and contest the shot and play without fouling.”
When you weigh everything, who’s better?
Fox: “We know that Mike played and had moments where he left the game for stretches. He returned and played for 15 years in his career. I think the greatest separation between the two will go down as Kobe’s ability to play 19-20 seasons at the level of which he’s played. Michael’s body didn’t hold up beyond those 15 years. At the same time, he maximized the most out of his career over the course of his 15 years just as Kobe has with his 19.
They played in different eras and played different styles when it comes to the league itself. Kobe now plays at a time where the game has changed. Who’s to say the way the game has played today, who knows what he may have done. They did cross paths for a couple of games. We got to see the passing of the baton and generational shift. Kobe takes great honor in following the line of great two guards. He followed Michael Jordan as the next guy when so many guys were reaching for in hopes they would be the next Mike.”
Karl: “I’m going to stay with my North Carolina roots and say Michael. What I’ve always said is I’ve never seen more of a championship competitor than Michael Jordan. He demanded a win. He willed a win. He believed he was going to win. He tried to intimidate you that he would win and he would beat you where you’re going to be embarrassed. He and Kobe have such of a similar personality. But I experienced playing cards with Michael and playing ping pong with Michael. I played golf with Michael. He always had the same attitude. He wants to destroy you.”
Rose: “Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest player of all time. Kobe Bryant, I joke on occasion, is the remix. If there was somebody going to be the next MJ, it has been Kobe. That’s what makes him the second greatest shooting guard of all time.”
Karl on coaching the 1998 All-Star game when Jordan and Bryant faced off against each other. Jordan posted 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting in the East’s 135-114 victory and won his third of All-Star MVP. Though he didn’t even start for the Lakers, the 19-year-old Bryant started for the West and finished with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting, six rebounds and two steals despite missing the entire fourth quarter.
Karl: I was accused of taking Kobe out of the game because I wanted Michael to win MVP. I never in my life in the middle of a game would think of something like that. At an All-Star game as a coach, you’re just trying to manage everybody’s minutes. I don’t think the game was that close. It was more one of those showcase games than one of those competitive games. But I think you could tell that you were dealing with the greatest athletes ever to play the game.”
Fox on when the Lakers hosted the Washington Wizards on March 23, 2003. While Jordan ended with 23 points on 10-of-20 shooting in 41 minutes, Bryant dropped 55 points on a 15-of-29 clip. Bryant’s points came from everywhere, including from 3-point range (9 of 13) and from the foul line (16 of 18).
Fox: “So much of what we did under the triangle offense under Phil Jackson was very much team focused and not individually. At the same time, I do recall the game being a game that drew a lot of attention because of the matchup with Kobe and it being potentially Michael’s last game. I remember the hype around the game. I don’t remember the individual play as much as realizing at that point that Kobe was better, younger and hungrier. Michael was always hungry, but Kobe had more going for him because of his age and youth.
For us and for the guys on the team that knew and got to see Kobe’s drive up close behind the scenes, you always knew that Kobe was pushing to become one of the greats of all time, He was faced against arguably the greatest of the game ever. So you knew it was something that people were excited about. At that time, we knew that Kobe was better than Mike at this stage. I don’t think it was about what Kobe was going to do. We all knew Kobe was going to put up big numbers. We wondered if it would be much of a matchup. Would Mike be able to answer? Quite frankly, he wasn’t going to be able to match a big and young and energetic skill level.”
Are there any players in the next generation that remind you of Kobe?
Rose: “That door is closed. It’s almost like the success of how the Kardashians came to fame. That door is closed. Good luck waiting on another Kobe Bryant. The sport was his first, second and third his priority.”
Karl: “The only guy that kind of reminds me a little bit of Kobe right now is Paul George. He has that long athletic body. But he doesn’t have the offensive skills that Kobe has. But he has the length. He could become him. When I look at their games, I say he plays a little bit like Kobe. Kobe was a very good defender and Paul George is a really good defender too.”
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