For years now people have been comparing Kobe Bryant to the great Michael Jordan, and there are undoubtedly some similarities in their games. They both led teams to numerous national titles, they both exhibit a confident somewhat cocky attitude, and they are both relatively the same type of player. For years now there has been a semi majority opinion that puts Jordan atop the throne as best basketball player ever. A very hard seat to be in when you are competing with guys like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabaar, and too many other great players to mention. Oh wait, I forgot one, Kobe Bryant. In recent years there has been serious discussion that Bryant may be as good as, if not, better than Jordan, and this does not go with out merit. Along with the similarities I listed above lets not forget that they are two of the best players ever. Scratch that, the two best players ever. That being said I’m not here to make any final decisions on who is the ultimo hombre, plug “Los Suns,” as that would be accompanied by entirely too much criticism. Not to mention I’ve always been one that sits on the fence about bests of sport. So instead it seems that a general comparison would be more proper. That way you can decide for yourself.
Lets start in chronological order with number 23, His Airness, Michael Jordan. When anyone hears his name spoken there is little that pops into your head besides greatness. There isn’t anything to dispute the fact that this guy is at the top. A goliath of the court who could simply not be stopped. If he wanted to score he could. And how about that nickname, His Airness? I read a quote by another NBA player and I know I’m going to butcher it, but it went something to the affect that “when Jordan jumped he got to the top of his jump and just decided ‘well I guess I’ll just hang out up here for a while.” Thats exactly what it seemed like. Click here and you’ll see what I mean.
Now lets check out some of the ex-Bull’s stats. I wish I could find a place that puts up his stats from his Bulls years only, but I cant, and I’m not about to compile them myself. So this is going to have to include the stats from his entire career from 1984-2003, including his last two years when he played with the Washington Wizards, a team that he later came to own. He sported a field goal percentage of 49.7, and taking from my second grade teacher who taught me to round that means that Jordan made every other shot, enough said. His 3-point percentage is a bit on the low side at 32.7% but I would like to point out that during the ’94-’95 season, after his return from a one year break, he shot 50% from behind the stripe. Jordan also put up a rounded down average of 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. You really can’t say enough about how good those stats are. To go out on the court and for all purposes have your hand in 40 points is unreal. Jordan set the bar pretty high, and even to be compared to the legend is something in its own right.
Now onto Kobe, who should feel pretty good just being the number one contender. To me he is owed this compliment. It sometimes gets tossed around that Kobe is an overrated player. That just simply is not true. The “Black Mamba” as he is recently being called can evade the peskiest of defenders, and put up impossible shots while doing acrobats in the air that somehow seem to find the bottom of the nylon. If anybody is going to be compared to Jordan, Kobe is it for my money. Also, I don’t buy the idea that Kobe has a better supporting cast, and its been proven twice in a row now that he can indeed win without the Diesel. I mean how deep into their bench could the Lakers go this year until they got into iffy territory? I’m gonna say to the sixth man, Lamar Odom. Even he didn’t perform consistently every night. Kobe is the glue that has held all of his championship teams together and not the other way around. Did I mention most of his highlights look eerily similar to Jordan’s? Click here to see what I mean.
Now onto a few statistics on the contender. Kobe puts up a pretty impressive field goal percentage at 45.5% and when your asked to score as much as he is that number carries even more weight. When looking at his 3-point percentage you’re hit with another good number. Coming in at an even 34% Kobe is up there with the likes of Jason Kidd. Looking at the big three stats, points, rebounds, and assists, Kobe comes in at 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game. Go ahead make the comparison. He is a significant amount lower in the points category, and one rebound shy of Jordan’s mark, actually.9 when you don’t round for all you sticklers out there. To me the biggest stat for Kobe is his 3-point shooting. Last time I checked he is 23rd all time in three balls made, and he should be able to make it into the top 10 by the end of career, barring some unfortunate circumstances. He is after all somewhat injury prone lately.
Like I said I’m not here to crown a king, no reference to LeBron intended, but only to try and give each side of the story. For about 10 peak years of Jordan’s career he was pretty much feared by the opposing team. Kobe has done the same to his opponents for some time now. So to me it is not absurd to ask the question of who is better. I think its pretty clear that both are freaks of nature when it comes to playing basketball, and for some reason the gods reached down and blessed them both with an amazing gift. Both players deserve all the praise they get. I guess the only way to see who is better is to use one of those computer programs they had in the latest Rocky movie and toss a ball between digital Jordan and digital Kobe and see which one comes out on top. On second thought there would still be skeptics, but hey, it would make for quite the show in real life.