Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Kobe can never be like Mike



The more I watch Kobe Bryant rip through the NBA playoffs, the more drawn I become to the idea that he has become a little bit better basketball player than Michael Jordan. If you use your eyes, and you're not wearing Jordan-colored sunglasses, you can see it. But no matter how good Kobe becomes, no matter how many MVP's and championships he finishes with, he'll never achieve the same level of public idolatry that Jordan did. There's no way.

I've been reading excerpts from the late, great, David Halberstam's classic book, "Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made." I don't remember much of Mike's heyday with the Bulls, because I was too young; I remember a little bit of the tail end of his career, but even then I wasn't really into basketball. However, I realize and understand that he transended the game and became a cultural icon. Better than anyone else probably could have, Halberstam puts it into words.

Jordan wasn't just famous; he wan't just famous for a basketball player; he wasn't just famous in some places. Jordan was known everywhere. He remains amongst the recognizble faces in the world, but during the 90's he may have been the most recognizable. What American was more famous than Michael Jordan? As Halberstam points out, Jordan's notoriety was greater "in many distant parts of the globe than the President of the United States or any movie or rock star." Jordan was royalty, and no celebrity was more beloved. Women swooned over him, and men and young boys alike wanted to be just like him.

This was for many reasons. First and foremost, obviously, Jordan was given a unique gift, the gift to play basketball in a way that made him seem inhuman, God-like. There was no restraint on his athletic ability, his game was remarkably skilled and well-rounded, and he could do whatever he wanted on a basketball court at any time. If you irked him, you got 40. If you pissed him off, you got 50. That's man-amongst-men cliche, only Jordan was a guard, 6-6 and slender, not a behemoth like Shaq or Wilt. Halberstam best describes Jordan's athletic talent when he describes him as a "genetic fluke."

But perhaps just as important to the Jordan mystique was the way he represented himself off the court. Jordan was handsome . He was well-spoken and articulate. He was immaculately dressed, stylish suits before and after games, and clean-cut. Spotless. He was charming and charismatic, and mostly non-controversial, because he knew how to use that charm and charisma with the media. You can't control all of these attributes, but you can control some of them, and Jordan realized that a person in his position, a global icon, should carry himself with a certain dignity and grace. This was all part of Jordan's gift. He quietly accepted his position, and embraced it, while still maintaining his nonpartisan position. ("Republican's wear sneakers, too," he once said, the anti-Ali, if you follow me.)

Kobe is just as good-looking and eloquent, and he cleans up just as nicely. And as I said, we've reached the point where he's probably become a better pure basketball player, his handle more malleable, his range and offensive repertoire more deep. But nobody sees Kobe in the same way they seem MJ; Lakers fans like myself always stood behind Kobe, right and wrong and perceived wrong, but off the court I don't see him as having any kind of aura.

On the court, he is a master craftsman, even more so than Michael, but outside of that realm he is, in a sense, just an average guy. He's not cool. Every guy doesn't want to be like him. Women aren't crazy about him. Kids love him unfailingly, but that's becuase they are so innocent.

Michael and his image-makers were able to convince adults that he was perfect, that he could do no wrong; Kobe the person is as imperfect and human as they come. Unlike Michael, he seems just like the rest of us. Actually, because of his high-profile and the frequency with which his mistakes and misgivings become open to the public, he seems even more flawed. If Kobe has mystique, it's of a different kind: he's complicated, he's confusing, nobody understands him and nobody ever will. He's more interesting than mystifying.

People make fun of Kobe. He gave himself the nickname of Mamba, but when bloggers call him that, they're doing it to mock him. Nobody made fun of Michael. Nobody mocked Michael. Everybody loved him too much to do that. Jordan was held in awe.

And still is. And always will be. Kobe, on the other hand, never will be, at least not blindly. And that's why he will never match, let alone surpass, Jordan in the eyes of the public. People will be drinking the MJ Kool-Aid until the end of time, so many years from now, even though Kobe was better, it will never really seem like he was.

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

The more I watch Kobe Bryant rip through the NBA playoffs, the more drawn I become to the idea that he has become a little bit better basketball player than Michael Jordan. If you use your eyes, and you're not wearing Jordan-colored sunglasses, you can see it.

Then, two sentences later, you say you don't remember anything about Michael's career until the very end. WTF?

Take it from me....Kobe's not there yet. He might be in five years or so....but if MJ was playing in today's NBA, he'd be putting up 40 a game.

Forshizzzle said...

This post is terrible. Why don't you try and present an argument as to why you think Kobe is a better basketball player than Jordan. Oh that's right, because there isn't any possible argument that could be made that could begin comparing the two players.

Anthony Wilson said...

Somebody mentioned the same thing on Bleacher Report. With NBA TV, NBA Classic, Hoopsencyclopedia on YouTube, and just the internet in general, with all it's written accounts...you didn't have to watch a guy live to know how he played. I, like any other writer who occasionally writes about athletes or periods in sports that came before their time, am a students of the game. I know Michael Jordan's game inside-out, as well as anybody. I think people are missing the point of this post, that's the problem: it's not about why Kobe is better than Michael, it's about why the world will never accept that he is. If it had been about why I think Kobe is better, surely I would have taken time out to explain how I acquired the knowledge for my argument.

Hendy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Don't worry Anthony. forshizzzle missed the entire point of the article.

Anonymous said...

LOL...

If you start a piece with these two sentences:

"The more I watch Kobe Bryant rip through the NBA playoffs, the more drawn I become to the idea that he has become a little bit better basketball player than Michael Jordan. If you use your eyes, and you're not wearing Jordan-colored sunglasses, you can see it."

You better have something to back that up. I know what you say you were going for there, but when the average sports fan reads that they will want reasons to back that claim up. Period.

As someone who was around to watch most of Jordan's career even though I was young, there is no way I come to the conclusion that Kobe is as good as Jordan was except in maybe the ability to score. Kobe, like Mike, can light up the scoreboard. In all other facets of the game Jordan easily surpasses Kobe to this point in Kobe's career.

Anonymous said...

hardawayhatesyou is right. If MJ was able to play with the current rules of the NBA, he'd be absolutely unstoppable.

Chris Richardson said...

You are correct, Anthony. However, if you are going to make statements like:

"The more I watch Kobe Bryant rip through the NBA playoffs, the more drawn I become to the idea that he has become a little bit better basketball player than Michael Jordan. If you use your eyes, and you're not wearing Jordan-colored sunglasses, you can see it."

And

"And as I said, we've reached the point where he's probably become a better pure basketball player, his handle more malleable, his range and offensive repertoire more deep"

AFTER admitting you've never seen Jordan play is a pretty silly presumption, isn't it? He's asking people who actually watched MJ in his prime to accept the arguments of one that hasn't.

As for the image thing, no Kobe will never be idolized the way Mike was. And that's his fault -- not society's nor the fact that Kobe's proven to be fallible. He's simply comes across like a prick and a lot of people see that.

And that's why ESPN did the Stephen A. Smith/Kobe fluff piece on Sunday: to soften his image a little more.

Now, if you want to make a compare/compare instead of a compare/contrast piece, perhaps you could look at the popularity of Tiger and compare it Jordan's.

talkinthelaw said...

I get the point, and agree with the premise that he will never be perceived on the same level. That's not even really arguable. But having watched both in their prime. living in Chi town then and LA now. Sorry. I'll call it a draw for offense, even though I don't really agree. But Kobe's defense? Excellent, but still not near MJ's.

DTMHTRML said...

If you dont remember Michael Jordans career dont make statements like Kobe is better than him.....well I never saw any of Marlon Brando's early works, but I just saw Forrest Gump on TNT and I'm pretty sure Tom Hanks is better. You sound like an idoit.

Anonymous said...

Why do you need to have watched MJ to compare him to Kobe? Do I need to have seen Wilt to know that he compares to Hakeem and Shaq? Like someone said earlier, there is plenty of Youtube video and other websites out there to make a fair judgment.

Having seen the MJ era and Kobe era myself, I'll say they compare very well. People say MJ would destroy the league today with the hand-checking rules in place but what about the general talent and athleticism levels also higher today? That said, I think MJ still wins.

Anonymous said...

While we're talking about MJ putting up 40/game in the current environment, I ask you: would Kobe be as dominant in the 80s and 90s Eastern Conference? Would he have taken the beatings night after night that Boston, Detroit and New York delievered and gotten back up for more? I don't think he would have and I think that goes towards his image as well.

With the exception of this year, I'm not sure Kobe's been a Leader to his team. MJ crapped on his teammates a la Kobe (anyone remember, "dont pass the ball to Bill Cartwright late in the game?") but he knew how to rally the troops and win. And fans responded to that - in a must win, you knew MJ would be there leading his team, taking the last show and accepting the accolades or the criticisms like a man. Is it ever Kobe's fault when they lose?

To this day I'm convinced that the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Knicks was when MJ became The Man. They waltzed through the regular season and the Heat in the first round and then got bitch-slapped, at Chicago Stadium, in game 1 by the Knicks. He had that UNBELIEVABLE layup/dunk over Oakley and Ewing (sending them both to the floor along with Ho. Grant) in the Garden then, in a very un-MJ like way, got in their face and laid it down. And the thing with MJ was, when it was a Game 7, you KNEW he'd put up 40 and lead a route, which is what he did.

And then lets not forget Game 1 of the FInals: 39 points in 34 minutes, 6 of 10 from 3 ("three pointers from Jordan, what in the world is going on!?!"). Nothing I've seen from Kobe would ever lead me to believe he'd take on Ewing and Oakley in that situation, let alone get in Oakley's face at the start of Game 7 then make him his bitch all game.

And that's it for me. MJ knew how to get the best from his support players and how to Lead them to victory. For Kobe, it's me first, me second, then maybe I'll look to pass, but wouldn't it be great if I could just pass it to myself? Plus he's a jerk and lacks MJ's charisma which speaks volumes as to why he's so disliked.

Anonymous said...

"With NBA TV, NBA Classic, Hoopsencyclopedia on YouTube, and just the internet in general, with all it's written accounts...you didn't have to watch a guy live to know how he played."

Really? That's like saying you read about WWII and watched a bunch of the History Channel so you know what it was like to live through the war. I'm 31 and I recognize I'll never be able to truly value Wilt, Russell, the Big O, or even Kareem and Walton. You can know how Jordan played, but to truly recognize his greatness (and realize Kobe's not on his level) you had to be watching the NBA back then.

Seeing little clips on youtube and other sites is not like watching WGN, NBC and the like back in the day.

Anthony Wilson said...

to ukchris and dtmhtrml: "Somebody mentioned the same thing on Bleacher Report. With NBA TV, NBA Classic, Hoopsencyclopedia on YouTube, and just the internet in general, with all it's written accounts...you didn't have to watch a guy live to know how he played. I, like any other writer who occasionally writes about athletes or periods in sports that came before their time, am a students of the game. I know Michael Jordan's game inside-out, as well as anybody."

I guess everybody doesn't read all of the comments, neither do I when I post a comment on someone else's post. Why would I write a post about how Kobe is better than Michael if I had never have seen Michael play? That doesn't make any sense. I've studied Michael Jordan's game. Ever heard of NBA's Greatest Games? Ever been to Hoopsencyclopedia on YouTube? You can always find a Michael Jordan game somewhere. Or you read about him. How do you think Bill Simmons is able to rank Cousy amongst the greatest point guards ever? Cousy retired when Simmons was a year old. Did Buster Olney ever watch Babe Ruth play? Did PETER GAMMONS ever watch Babe Ruth? No. But they know the history of the game, because they have access to it. We all do. It insults the intelligence of my audience to have to explain that. Does anybody really think I've never seen Michael Jordan play? I've seen him play hundreds of times, in his early days, in his prime, in his late prime. Live or on 10-year old tape, it's all the same.

to dtmhtrml: I wasn't alive when "The Godfather" came out, but I own it on DVD and have watched it 1,000 times, so I can compare it to Forrest Gump. Use your head.

talkinthelaw said...

Um, no one is really relying on the idea that you haven't seen MJ play. BUT the point is that getting 10-15 games on some classic station, 100 clips on You tube, etc is NOT the same as watching a player day in day put for 3/5/10 years. You get to see some one develop. As well as how teams play them, and how teams and fans react to them. Bottom line, having lived in Chicago for 10 years, NYC for 15 and now LA for six, I think I can safely say this. There are not many opposing fans of the Lakers who feel the way about Kobe that Knicks/Cavs fans felt about Jordan.

Chris Richardson said...

Jason nailed it. If you are relying on highlights to make your argument, you've already lost.

As for Bill Simmons and Bob Cousy, he's just repeating what's been whispered in his ear since he was born. Nothing more.

Anonymous said...

The sheer lack of context and utter short-sightedness of your claim that Kobe has surpassed Jordan, renders everything else you have to say, completetely worthless. I am a Knick fan from Jordan's era, but even I recognize that he is in every way superior to Kobe. He is not the defender, passer, team leader, or scorer (check the stats, little guy!) that Jordan was. People saying he's better than Jordan is becoming rampant and is colossally stupid.

Anthony Wilson said...

Not highlights. Actual basketball games. C'mon, you've seen NBA's Greatest Games before. On special occasions they have marathons. And when I want to zero in on his scoring I go to Hoopsencyclopedia on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/hoopsencyclopedia. To say I'm relying on "highlights" to make my argument is just wrong. And guys, all I'm doing is using my eyes. That's it. It's just basketball. I can see that Kobe's handle is better. He's a better outside shooter. He's got a deeper, more sophisticated offensive skill set, in terms of scoring. I don't need a time machine to see that.

It's one thing to disagree with someone, that's fine, but people are trying to undermine my credibility. Plus, of all the comments I've received, 90-95 percent have entirely missed the point of the article. That sucks.

Anonymous said...

Please note, I'm not chastising you, but just pointing out as to why so many of the comments are not guided toward the main point of your article. The issue, is that you started with a far too inflamatory comment.

Arguing over the best player for any sport is a touchy issue, let alone when you're comparing one of the most beloved athletes of all time, and if you allow me to make a blanket statement, to one who is despised by a fair few. By beginning your article the way you did, you shift the focus away from your point to a hot button issue.

While I do not agree at all with your assertion that Kobe is better than MJ, I do respect your right to form your own opinion, but there's a time and a place for it and I don't think this article was the optimal place for it. As I said, it causes to strong of an emotional response.

For example, rather than starting your post as you did, you could have slightly ammended it so that it reads:

The more I watch Kobe Bryant rip through the NBA playoffs, the more drawn I become to the idea that he is reaching a Jordan-like level

or

The more I watch Kobe Bryant rip through the NBA playoffs, the more drawn I become to the idea that he is among the greatest players of all time, right up there with his Airness.

While those are still inflammatory statements (some would argue that Kobe is not that close to Jordan, myself included) it at least tempered a little so that the transition to your main argument isn't lost amongst the Kobe vs. Jordan argument.

I do agree with your main point that Kobe will never surpass MJ in the eye of the public. I am sorely tempted to provide strong evidence to aid my belief that MJ is better than Kobe, but as you said, that's not your main point, so I'll save my thoughts for another day.

Oh yes, and I must commend you on your writing style. It was well written and thought out and it's not very often you see blogs quoting from books.

Cheers,
Jeeves

Anonymous said...

Wait a minute, let me get this straight. You can't even have an OPINION (which is what Anthony has, an opinion) on two players unless you have seen them play every game for "3/5/10 years"?? Do you guys realize that professional sports journalists who are paid to have opinions on the sports they cover don't even watch all the games? It is absolutely ridiculous to say an opinion on two players only qualifies if you've seen them play every game for their whole career.

And explain to me what is missed by people who don't do this? How the players act during timeouts? How they sit on the bench? What exactly is being missed? We have the technology to be able to see every point scored by a player for entire games at a time and you're just gonna brush that aside as irrelevant because he didn't watch it live for day in, day out for years at a time? That is some bullshit.

talkinthelaw said...

Of course you can have an opinion if you haven't seen everything on every on player. Having an opinion is fine, but having a counter argument is fine too. But if I was a team owner and some guy came to me and said what the original poster said, and someone else said "well, I was there for the entire careers of both guys". guess who I'm letting make my draft pick? And the bottom line is, I can't find any takers in an office full of Laker fans that would take Kobe over MJ.

Anonymous said...

I totally get the blog host's frustration that people miss his main point, about there being no way Kobe will ever be revered as MJ. But I do think Antonomous doesn't sufficiently appreciate the difference between watching a guy play 30 or 40 games a year for a decade and watching highlights and ESPN Classics. In 1987, the cable system where I was living in Hawaii got WGN. I watched almost every Bulls game over the next 11 years. I've lived in Socal since the mid-1990s and seen more than half of Kobe's games. I love them both.

BUT ... for all the talk about Kobe's superior repertoire -- Jemele Hill makes the claim, too -- it just doesn't hold up when you look at the raw numbers. Jordan shot a higher FG percentage and had a much higher PPG. Kobe's superiority as a three-point shooter doesn't make up for the fact that he's not as consistent driving to the hoop or shooting 15-footers as Mike.

And the whole question of defense begs fuller consideration. Michael Jordan, in his prime, was as ferocious a 2 or 3 defender as ever lived. In the late 1980s, Jerry West was asked once if Michael Cooper was the best small forward defender in the NBA. He said, no, not at all, it's Michael Jordan. West said Jordan was the best 2 defender also.

Jordan had seasons with 200 steals, 100 blocks, 30-plus PPG and 53 percent shooting. Kobe is a great defender, but Jordan was the Bill Russell of perimeter defenders.

So Antownomous, while I feel sorry that your main point is being ignored, some of the gripes you're getting are deserved.

Anonymous said...

Antwonomous should read this book about the Lakers called Madmen's Ball: Inside the Lakers Dysfunctional Dynasties.

It covers Kobe from year one through the summer Phil Jackson got fired and Shaq got traded. If you read it you will never think of Kobe as like Jordan. For the first nine years of his career, 96 to 05, his teammates had no idea what to expect out of him.

He would be critized for shooting 30 times and then shooting 1 time in the first half the next game. He would be criticized by Tex Winter for not running the triangle and he would curse Tex. (An old, old guy)

The way the book describes it, Byron Scott in Kobe's first year or two was really the only Laker who ever thought he was a better teammate than Shaq. That's even though Shaq took off early seasons, was often out of shape and was a whiner themselves. The other players didn't just like Shaq better. They knew where he was coming from and what he was about. They didn't know from day to day what Kobe they would get. So if this year Kobe is great that doesn't make up for all those other years.

Jordan, by contrast, was a great leader and an admired teammate from the first day.

Even now you still see games where four plays in a row, Kobe will throw himself in the middle of the defense, shoot a crazy shoot and wave his arms and pout when he doesn't get a foul. Not Jordan. He talked about his "supporting cast" but he helped drive Pippen into becoming a fellow superstar, one of NBA's Top 50.

Do you think Kobe would want to do that with a younger teammate? Help them become a superstar, not just an all-star?

I'm not sure at all.

talkinthelaw said...

And okay. Last point. I don't think the main point is being ignored. not at all. I think everyone that has argued just hasn't brought it up because they AGree with the main point. It's just that the argument being used to emphasize that point is wrong. "Kobe can never be like Mike". Fine. But, "Kobe is a better player and can never be like Mike" is actually what he is saying. And. since the last poster just started with the stats. really. just go take a look. it's not really that close for Kobe. Five more years we'll talk.

Anonymous said...

"Why do you need to have watched MJ to compare him to Kobe? Do I need to have seen Wilt to know that he compares to Hakeem and Shaq? Like someone said earlier, there is plenty of Youtube video and other websites out there to make a fair judgment."

Comparing 2 players by watching some youtube hightlight reel is like the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Kobe is nowhere near Jordan's level cause Jordan has a way higher bball IQ and will than Kobe. And while Kobe rests 35 mins on the defensive end so he can concentrate on offense Jordan locked down enemy players for the whole game. It's still beyond me how he repeatedly get's into the All-Defensive First Team while players like Raja Bell only get into the 2nd. NBA marketing at it's best. Thank god the Celtics shredded this hyping machine.

Anonymous said...

Wow. You're pretty fvckin' dumb.lol

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I'm just confused as to how you're saying from watching hoops' videos on youtube that you can see Kobe has better handles, and more sophisticated offensive skillset. If anything you can see from his videos that Jordan's handles is just as adept especially in traffic. Also Jordan's footwork especially in the post is so much more percise than Kobe's, not to mention his array of hesitations, head fakes, jab steps. Jordan's repetoire was actually more sophisticated because they were so subtle if you watched it real time.

Anonymous said...

never thought such stupid man exists.. maybe you need to play real basketball first before making that statement. a radical shooter, the more the better kobe is to be hailed greater than his airness? maybe you are wearing kobe's me only glasses..? peace man ^^

Anonymous said...

this is exactly what i think about the whole michael and kobe thing.

to all you fools saying that you cant know how michael played if you never saw him in his era. that is crap. there are videos and stats over the whole internet. so thats the most absurd thing ever.

and whats this "if michael was in the NBA today he would still be putting up 40 points"?? that is stupid. he was playing against good players back then, but do you really think he is gonna put up that many points on LeBron or kobe or gilbert arenas or any of the big guys now a days??? i didnt think so. although he was still be a damn good player.

watching hours of videos of the two its obvious that kobe is better. michael is so perfect in everything he does. all those buzzer beaters weren't anything amazing. they were cool but it was just squaring up and taking the shot. kobe takes perfection to a whole nother level. he does what nobody has done before. im not just saying this because i dont like MJ. my whole room is painted dedicated to him.

Anonymous said...

The only thing Kobe has done that MJ has not is get blown out in a Finals game 7. Try to find a similar failure once MJ hit his prime. Good luck. Hmm, MJ never even had to go to one. Funny. To quote a writer who annoys me (Bill Simmons) but knows more about hoops than most anybody walking the earth, following Game 7...

"OK, can we officially stop with the Kobe-MJ comparisons now?"

And really. Kobe, LeBron, Arenas and the big players these days are so good MJ couldn't put up 40 on them? really? wow. I guess Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Joe Dumars really sucked. I mean, they're in the Hall of Fame, but hey, they let anybody in there.

Anonymous said...

"and whats this "if michael was in the NBA today he would still be putting up 40 points"?? that is stupid."

So I guess Phil Jackson was stupid when he said MJ would probably score 45 points a game in today's game. That's why Artest said if he hadn't broken Jordan's ribs he probably could have scored 30 a game when he was 38. You're clueless if you don't think Jordan could put up 40 against today's competition. There are NO great individual defenders now.

Besides you're logic is retarded. Jordan could square up so his play's aren't as amazing as Jordans? There's a reason Jordan could square up...it's called good fundamentals. Or would you like him to shoot more like Lebron. Fadaway on every jumpshot and miss everything when teams give him that shot? To me Jordan was more spectacular cause he could get to anywhere on the court he wanted. Kobe can't, so to me if you watch video there's no comparison, MJ is clearly better.

clydebranch725 said...

The global effect makes a big difference! I'm a MJ fan to the heart, but watching Kobe lead this team to the NBA Finals in today's league have to match with Michael or have to be better. Michael's supporting cast was much better than's Kobe's today... If Kobe never be named the best ever he's damn sure in the top 3 hands down, playing with Shaq in someways hurt him from achieving that, because he never crowled, remember Michael Lost to become as great as he is, Kobe came into the NBA going to the West Finals, people say he arrogent, I would be too if I am not use to losing, didn't step a foot in college to learn how to become a man before becoming one! -Yep you never thought about that uh? Michael had all these things and that's why his image was so sharp. Michael was disipline with alot of talent, and Kobe is spoiled with it. If Kobe career had of started like Michaels, he would be even better NOW! but we'll never know at 30 years old he's on the ramp to playing 12 years of NBA and NBA legs only go so far these day's.

Anonymous said...

Let's be real, the reason why Kobe will never be have the same impact on the game as MJ did is because Kobe tries to be LIKE MJ. And as far as Jordan playing Today, he'd score 40 a game if not more. The reason is because for most of MJ's career they allowed hand checking in the NBA. Man, back then you practically had to know karate to get an open look. There better athlete's overall today but the league was waaay more physical during the MJ era. I'm also going to piggy back on clydebranch725s post because I agree with most of what he wrote. Execpt that I still beleive that MJ was a better because he was a better overall athlete than Kobe. MJ Jumped way higher, Was faster, has way bigger hands which allowed him to more things with the ball. Mike would do muliple pump fakes with only one hand on the ball while and turning his body in Mid air and he did this EVERY game" C'mon guys stop it. I mean Kobe is good I'm not taking anything away from him an he'll going down as one of the best but he is not close to MJ like clydebranch725 wrote Kobe came into the league winning. Mike came from the bottom up. So his game will never get to develop that MJ's did

Anonymous said...

Just watch this video and tell me if Kobe gets D'd up the way Mike used to

The D is softer now than what it used to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5auPSMaD3vE&feature=related

Anonymous said...

Here it is Guys. This Person did a good job of comparing the diferrent types of defense that Kobe and LeBron face in the similar situations of Mike. It's clear that the NBA Defense of the MJ Era has been tainted to allow more offense. And, Mike averaged almost 40 a game. C'mon man!!!!! Stop it Kobe is NOT and NEVER wil be better than MJ

Anonymous said...

Oops! I forgot to the Video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du-C-TvHqzA&feature=related

Anonymous said...

Why bother with this article? Lebron will be "the next Jordan" more than Kobe ever will.

avalanche222 said...

you
are

A

Fuckin Idiot.

how did you like the 40 pt slaughter last year by boston in the finals? You wanna know the difference between the two? MJ took his team to BEAT utah by 40 in the finals. That's the difference between them. We'll see if that 80 pt lead ever begins to close. We're already in the 3rd quarter of kobes career.

btw. i live in LA and grew up here. Kill yourself.

avalanche222 said...

wow fuckin kids these days are even more stupid than i thought. All you (semi-few) people agreeing with the article are beyond fuckin stupid to help

You'd have thought all this would have changed after the ridiculous finals last season (08'). But loser kobe stans don't wanna live outside of their own world. The raping of this arguement will continue

Anonymous said...

Well, i just found this blog one day after Kobe won his 4th NBA championship.

I still think MJ could compete and probably put as many numbers up a night in the modern NBA, but to say that Kobe is not even close is a little harsh. I hated Kobe's character with a passion and although it seems he's grown up a bit since last years embaressing loss in the finals, he still has much more left in him. In my opinion, Kobe will probably become the "MJ" of the new era as long as he keeps his nose clean.

Anonymous said...

we can say that Jordan began a new way of playin basketball but if kobe and Jordan were playing at same time kobe surely is better... believe me ... Jordan didn't have the perfect style of Kobe but he was a better Dunker

mens trousers said...

I'm agree with your post Kobe will never be like Mike,Kobe suck!

Staceyzwng said...

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Harvey said...

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