Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan

[sumday]

I oted for Jordan, but he did play in a time that the NBA was much weaker than it is now. Still, Kobe just seems to lack the stamina and the clutch baskets that Michael had.

Weaker teams back then? I grew up watching Jordan beat a very good Supersonics team with high flyer Shawn Kemp and Payton, Utah Jazz with Karl Malone and Stockton, Houston with Hakeem and Drexler, Orlando with Penny and Shaq, and my favorite team back then, the Knicks with the best center of all time Patrick Ewing and his cronies, John Starks, Childs, Allan Houston, Larry Johnson, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, etc....Can you tell I miss those days of the NBA?

Anyways, I thought Jordan faced and beat some very good teams back then. Better than now anyways.

 

[sumday]

I like Jordan better but Kobe is right up there. Love how intense and competitive they are. Not to mention talented.

 

[Duke04]

Kobe is all hype and isnt even close to MJ. Not even close.

All this "closer" stuff is the media trying to find someone to latch on to since Jordan left.

If Kobe didnt play for the Lakers and played for the Memphis NBA team, he would just be a good player and thats it. However because he plays for the Lakers and Hollywood is all there and he has been fortunate to play with Shaq, he gets all the media attention.

The refs buy into it and make some atrocious calls, and when Kobe doesnt get the call, he cries to the refs all the way back down the court.

Weak stuff.

anyone that can't see how good of a basketball player kobe bryant is, obviously doesn't know the first thing about basketball. it's not hollywood, it's not shaq, it's not the refs... it's his skill. i know this won't change your mind because youre a close minded hater, but whatever...

im not saying he's better than jordan... and i'm not saying jordan is better than him. i'm going to be honest, i never really saw jordan play in his prime... i saw him at the end of his career so i cant make a judgement on who is better. but i can say that kobe is not just a "good player"...

 

[sumday]

Kobe is not just a good player he's one of the greatest of all time.

Also, Shaq benefited from Kobe(as he did with other superstar guards like Penny and Wade) as much as Kobe might have benefited from him.

You have to give credit where credit is due. Kobe has uncanny abilities and so does Lebron. You can't take anything away from them. Let's be fair. As for as who's better, that can be debated forever. I still say Jordan is the best of all time.

How about the disappointments? Vince Carter or my former favorite player, Tracy Mcgrady, what a disappointment these guys turned out to be. Soft and full of excuses. They had so much potential. Vince talking about how he never went all out at times...that's pathetic and a disgrace. Then there's Tracy whining about how the NBA broke down his body and he has to take it easy. Give me a break. He let me down. Smaller guys like Iverson take a beating all the time and give it their all game in game out. I watched John Stockton games all the time when he played for Utah and he was a small white guy and he took beatings all the time and still played hard and was as tough as they came.

 

[Hamilbet]

if you're going to use numbers to determine who is the better player, it will always be jordan.

I CAN NOT believe I am actually reading this thread on this site.

I'm almost offended.

You can use anything you want to compare Jordan will always be a better player. (not to attack the above mentioned poster)

I can't believe this is actually a question.

 

[budlight]

kobe has only 1 mvp in his career no finals mvp ytd (currently working on it) this is his 6th finals appearance 3 rings (with shaq) as great of a player as kobe is he is not as good as mj

 

[budlight]

Jordan, but he did play in a time that the NBA was much weaker than it is now..

many of the greatest players to ever play were in jordans era?
look at the 92' dream team
10 of the 12 players on the dream team are on the 50 all time greatest players list

 

[TonyIII]

MJ all the way. no doubt. The real ? is who is better Kobe Or Lebron and in that I say Kobe all day. i would take Kobe over Lebron all day. I want the ball in kobe's hands when the games on the line over Lebron any day. But MJ is the definintion of game on the line...

 

[TonyIII]

many of the greatest players to ever play were in jordans era?
look at the 92' dream team
10 of the 12 players on the dream team are on the 50 all time greatest players list

yea that guy is crazy. the NBA is in no way better than i twas when MJ played. Infact it could be worse. The last 2 years have marked a new era in the NBA with lots of new young players emerging, but still the NBA leading up the last 2 years. Was turning into a joke. These playoff have bean great though and have really helped put interest back into the NBA that we have not seen in years. The regular season though still neads help for sure. hopefully the NBA will continue on its current stride and emerge back into the sport it was years ago.

 

[sumday]

Weaker teams back then? I grew up watching Jordan beat a very good Supersonics team with high flyer Shawn Kemp and Payton, Utah Jazz with Karl Malone and Stockton, Houston with Hakeem and Drexler, Orlando with Penny and Shaq, and my favorite team back then, the Knicks with the best center of all time Patrick Ewing and his cronies, John Starks, Childs, Allan Houston, Larry Johnson, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, etc....Can you tell I miss those days of the NBA?

Anyways, I thought Jordan faced and beat some very good teams back then. Better than now anyways.

Also, another point is that there are 2 or 3 more teams in the NBA now which means the NBA is even more watered down than in Jordan's era. Jordan faced stiff competition back then.

 

[TonyIII]

Kobe is not just a good player he's one of the greatest of all time.

Also, Shaq benefited from Kobe(as he did with other superstar guards like Penny and Wade) as much as Kobe might have benefited from him.

You have to give credit where credit is due. Kobe has uncanny abilities and so does Lebron. You can't take anything away from them. Let's be fair. As for as who's better, that can be debated forever. I still say Jordan is the best of all time.

How about the disappointments? Vince Carter or my former favorite player, Tracy Mcgrady, what a disappointment these guys turned out to be. Soft and full of excuses. They had so much potential. Vince talking about how he never went all out at times...that's pathetic and a disgrace. Then there's Tracy whining about how the NBA broke down his body and he has to take it easy. Give me a break. He let me down. Smaller guys like Iverson take a beating all the time and give it their all game in game out. I watched John Stockton games all the time when he played for Utah and he was a small white guy and he took beatings all the time and still played hard and was as tough as they came.

I would still have to say Those 3 guards u mentioned definately benifited more from SHAQ than he ever did from them. remember all those guys have never really done shit without the big man. everyone one knows this. especially the NBA. The paint is everything. SHAQ is the key on all those teams.

 

[sumday]

Yeah, but Shaq did benefit from them too. Especially that year that Miami faced Dallas. Wade just took over.

Shaq did nothing in Phoenix without a superstar guard by his side as in previous years.

You do need a solid big man to compete though, you're right. Duncan, Shaq, Hakeem, all these guys were rock solid centers that were all major factors in their respective teams winning championships.

 

[TonyIII]

shaq was also nothing like he once was once in Phoenix

 

[TonyIII]

Shaq gave his all to give MIA the Title. He was already waring down, but grinded to get them over the edge that year. After that u knew Shaq would start to sink as he would deteriorate and lose the ambition he once had

 

[halekulani]

Yeah, But I'm talking about Michael Jordan....did Jordan run to Phil and Cry to trade him away ? So he could be the Only Superstar on the Team.

uh, no you weren't

With All those Great Players that Michael played with, They were a Team ! and Played as a Team ! Egos Aside ! They Clicked, with Each other !

you weren't referring to michael jordan.

and if you think MJ didn't have an ego you're delusional. he's one of the biggest trash talkers in the league. he KNEW he was the best.

 

[halekulani]

I CAN NOT believe I am actually reading this thread on this site.

I'm almost offended.

You can use anything you want to compare Jordan will always be a better player. (not to attack the above mentioned poster)

I can't believe this is actually a question.

eh
sports athletes only get better, not worse. the game evolves and so do the skills. it's not regressing at all. yes there are fluctuations where the draft class talent may dip a bit, but it always rebounds.

jordan's dominance is his legacy. pretty positive nobody will match 2 3-peats but bron...maybe. but when you compare the individual skills, that's where the argument gets grey.

 

[Mindware]

For the thousandth time or so i'll chime in on the everlasting mj vs kobe non-issue. It's a non-issue b/c kobe can't hold mj's jock in all aspects, period.

If u wanna go by stats, plenty of previous posters have mentioned them b4 in mj's favor. Personality wise, check to mj. I don't know them personally, but from all the countless interviews by both, and just the overall image they present to the outside world in general, there's no denying that kobe seems like a bitch. Sense of style, check to mj again. Kobe has absolutely no taste or class.

If they were to ever play 1 on 1 though, both being in their prime, I wouldn't be surprised if they split down the middle or even if kobe won more than 50% of the time.

 

[Rawpimple]

The only comparison is they are both black and they both play in the NBA. Other than that MJ wins every single significant category.

 

[mo'moneymo'money]

y would u even post something like this.

no question, jordan, kobe is not even close to being like mike.

 

[Betsmart]

MJ no doubt better then Kobe.