Kobe Better Than MJ? *eekk*

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Augustus on May 30, 2008 at 2:51pm

People love to be nostalgic. The truth is that Kobe IS better than Jordan. Kobe can do everything that Jordan could, and he could do it as well as Jordan could do it, including defend. Kobe has an edge as a better shooter. Yes, Jordan could shoot well. But Kobe shoots extremely well. Everybody loves Jordan because he was the best of that era when we were coming up. Jordan was the best player of his time. Kobe is the best player in a league with much more competition than Jordan had. LeBron, AI, McGrady, Duncan, Garnett, Nowitski, Nash, all these guys are better than the legends of Jordan's time and Kobe is better than all of them. Its ok, let it go. BTW: I'm not even a Kobe or La fan. AI is my favorite player, and my teams are Denver, Spurs and Detroit.

Permalink Reply by CathrynMarie on May 30, 2008 at 2:57pm

Man - all I saw was "my teams...Detroit"...Thats what I'm talkin about!! lol - Im a Pistons, Dallas and Rockets fan...Boston gets my respect too...CP is one of my Fav players - was kinda sad he didn't MVP, but aye! Tracy has fallen off a bit to me but he's always been #1..My ass will be all day naming players I respect; I have different reasons why I like so many. Like Gil - OMG..when he's right - he is RIGHT!!

Permalink Reply by CJ on May 31, 2008 at 9:33pm

Cat my friend, I must tell you that although Kobe has yet to win the six rings that MJ won during his reign in the NBA, he is definitely pressing the issue. I am both a Kobe and LA fan, but I also am willing to give credit where it is due. MJ is the greatest basketball player of all time... right now. But can we honestly say that if Kobe continues to win championships, mvps, gold medals, and all NBA defensive teams that he can't be spoken of in the same conversation as Jordan and perhaps even surpass him? Well guess what (He can do all of those things this YEAR! He won the mvp, he was first team all NBA and All defense, etc. And he has also done somethings that Jordan has never done.
10 50 point games in a row, 81 points in a game (2nd all time), average 50 points for a month, Most 3 pointers in a game, he even scored 45 in one half against the Wizards when (Old, in age, Jordan was playing). And he is really just entering his PRIME.
Don't get me wrong because Jordan is an amazing basketball player, an incredible businessman, and an all around cool ass guy. He had a generation in the palm of his hands because the things he had done, he made us believe we hadn't seen before, and in some cases he was right. We as a people were enamored with the mystique that is MJ. We were amazed by the Jumpman silhouette.
As it has already been stated Kobe is capable of doing ALL the things Jordan did, and somethings he has never done. I disagree with the talent level argument, because Jordan played against some incredible players, including Magic, Bird, Zeke, Ewing, Robinson, Olajuwon, Barkley, Stockton and Malone, Payton and Kemp, and so On. There were some really good players back then and they were really dedicated to their craft and they didn't have the distractions of the internet, video games, and all the luxuries that today's athlete can get deterred by. That's what speaks even more to Kobe's ability though. He could have competed in Jordan's Era and He can compete in this Era. Jordan set the standard, but before Kobe is done he will have raised the bar and sooner or later people will wonder "who is the next Kobe". Appreciate while you can, cause I don't know if we'll ever see anything like those two MJ and Kobe again.

Permalink Reply by Augustus on June 3, 2008 at 11:04pm

You cant measure if a player is best by the number of rings. If that was the case Russell would be two times better than Jordan. Rings goes to teams. AI, Webber, Nowitski, Barkley, Dominique Wilkins are better than a bunch of cats that have rings.

Permalink Reply by Augustus on June 3, 2008 at 11:15pm

If rings mean that a player is better than there are several dudes with more rings than Jordan.

Permalink Reply by samax on June 2, 2008 at 9:22am

Kobe is awesome. i nominated him for the MVP after 60 games. he's the best player in the league right now. but he's just not on Jordan's level yet. if you wanna compare him to Jordan, the rings he got with Shaq don't count. that was Shaq's team (did everyone forget that when Shaq bounced, Kobe's Lakers failed to win anything, while Shaq scaled the mountain and won AGAIN with Kobe jr, aka D.Wade?)

Greatness is not about stats, it's about dominance.
Jordan is the most dominant player since Wilt.
Jordan kept many first ballot hall-of-fame players (Kemp, Barkley, Stockton and Malone, Reggie Miller, Ewing... i can go on...) from EVER winning a title. he won, and won, and won. if Kobe wins the next six titles IN A ROW, i will gladly give him his due. he's still young, so it could happen (i don't think it will, but it could). i definitely think he's the best in the league right now, but to argue that the competition is better now than when Jordan played is laughable. the Gasol trade is the main reason the Lakers are in the finals. otherwise, why was Kobe demanding a trade last summer? the west was a logjam at the end of the season, and had the Lakers had three or four more losses and not had home court (not to mention getting to play the _enver Nuggets in the first round), they wouldn't have beaten San Antonio.

Permalink Reply by CathrynMarie on June 2, 2008 at 1:00pm

say it again, Brother! lol

Permalink Reply by CJ on June 2, 2008 at 7:16pm

Jordan had a nice lil cast of characters as well. Don't forget that even without Jordan the Pippen lead cast (Kukoc and others) went to the Eastern Conference finals and were ousted by the Knicks (who later took that L to the Rockets if I'm not mistaken). But Jordan had a Pippen, just as Kobe had a Shaq. Shaq had a D-Wade. Noticing the formula? It takes two to climb that mountain these days. I remember when Shaq fouled out in a critical game against the pacers in the 2000 championship on the road. Kobe took over that overtime to secure their first championship. Also They all (jordan, kobe, and shaq) have won under some really good coaches. I agree that KB is not yet the greatest, but I also see why the comparisons have been drawn. The Gasol trade was key to their success, but truth is its just too hard and it has been since the 80's to win the game as a one man wreckin crew. Tim Duncan didn't do it alone. Shaq didn't. Jordan didn't. Magic Didn't. Bird Didn't. and Kobe won't, but to invalidate the fact that he GREATLY contributed to the 3 chips they won when Shaq was there would be to grossly understate the fact that KB is the truth. The Nuggets had Iverson and Anthony, and Martin, and Camby (3 no. 1 overall draft picks in the starting lineup!) they were a 50 win team, The Jazz D. Williams and Boozer (a poor mans stockton-malone combo), and the spurs in 4-1? No matter how you slice it coming back from 17 twice w/ Luke Walton is a hell of an accomplishment. LOL! For now the debate rages on... but if he manages to 3 peat again with this team (and it looks realistic) we might have to revisit this debate.

Permalink Reply by samax on June 3, 2008 at 3:19pm

i'm not saying Kobe didn't contribute to the rings he's got.

Shaquille was THE star of the lakers. Kobe HELPED him win. Jordan was the star of the Bulls. Pippen helped HIM. the difference is Kobe was Jealous of Shaq being recognized... he wouldn't wait his turn. they could'a won more titles, but Kobe was immature. he couldn't stand to play second to the best player in the league. if people wanna say he was greater than Jordan, he needs to carry a team the way Jordan did

the Lakers definitely had the easiest path to the finals. but they earned it with the top seed. my argument is that if 1) they didn't get Gasol and 2) they were not in the #1 spot (, they could easily have watched San Antonio go to the finals (again!)... or New Orleans, or Phoenix for that matter. i mean, i wish the nuggets were comp, i really do (A.I. is my favorite player), but NOBODY gets far in the playoffs playing no (as in Zero) defense. nobody. in the regular season, you can win games that way off of conditioning. but against a team that plays D, against even a DECENT coach (by the way, Phil is prrrretty good...), in a seven game series? NEVER. with home court, at least 5 of the 7 teams in the western playoffs would'a beat the Nuggs. they were a gimme. they need to get some defense.

the wins against Utah and San Antonio were impressive, and i'm not knocking Kobe, but he's not there yet. he isn't the greatest Player ever (that's Jordan)... hell, i'm not convinced he's the greatest LAKER ever (that's Magic, maybe even Shaq). if he wins three in a row with this squad (where he's the true leader in every sense), that'd REALLY help. Kobe has lots of great qualities. i often find myself arguin' with people who are hatin' on Kobe. and i never argue with people who compare Jordan and Kobe... but when they say he's better? feh.

once Jordan got his first title, he NEVER lost a playoff series (except the partial season when he came out of retirement the first time). and it wasn't because there was no competition, or because he was on an all-time great TEAM, it was because he was the best ever.
maybe Kobe will surpass him SOMEday...

but not yet.

Permalink Reply by AG. on June 2, 2008 at 10:54am

It is unfair when they compared Dr. J to Elgin Baylor, and it was unfair when Michael Jordan was compared to Dr. J. And now the talk is comparing Kobe to Jordan. When will it stop? Every person on this Earth is different than the next, even twins.

Permalink Reply by CathrynMarie on June 2, 2008 at 12:59pm

now - that was hot! that made me smile!

Permalink Reply by Augustus on June 3, 2008 at 11:10pm

For everyone that says Jordan is better than Kobe, name one thing that he can do better. Kobe is a better shooter. Name one thing Jordan did better. Rings dont make someone a better player. Big Shot Rob has more rings than Jordan. So do seven other players for that matter. Who would you rather have in their prime Jordan or Horry? We are talking about who is the better player period. Not everyones favorite.

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