Bryant vs Jordan ... yes, again.

[SomethingClever]

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How much more "talented" is kobe than a healthy Vince Carter?

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A [censored] lot. Kobe can play defense, for starters.

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Do you really think that's a "talent" issue?

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Yes. There's more to good defense than just "trying hard."

[Colt McCoy]

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How much more "talented" is kobe than a healthy Vince Carter?

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A [censored] lot. Kobe can play defense, for starters.

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Do you really think that's a "talent" issue?

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Yes. There's more to good defense than just "trying hard."

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Agreed. But there are also more variables than just talent and trying hard.

[Eagles]

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How much more "talented" is kobe than a healthy Vince Carter?

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A [censored] lot. Kobe can play defense, for starters.

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Do you really think that's a "talent" issue?

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Yes. There's more to good defense than just "trying hard."

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Agreed. But there are also more variables than just talent and trying hard.

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Yes but a lot of the skills for being good offensively and good defensively are the same.

There is a correlation between offensive ability and defensive ability.

[gusmahler]

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And yes, I still believe Kobe is a better player. This is an eyeball argument. Kobe will never be the best player who played the game. That achievement belongs to MJ alone. He'll never impact the world the way MJ did. But from a skill perspective, Kobe has MJ beat.

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that doesn't make any sense. MJ is the best player ever, but Kobe is better?


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Bad choice of wording. I think the author meant to say that MJ is "the greatest ever" but Kobe is better. Meaning that, to everyone, MJ will always have that title, no matter how talented someone else is.

Great is a better word than "best" because great also implies impact on the sport. Jordan had a much bigger impact on the sport than Bryant ever will.

It would be like saying: Wayne Gretzky will always be "The Great One", even if Crosby (or Ovechkin) becomes a better player.

[jah7_fsu1]

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The NBA is tougher today than 10 years ago, which was tougher then 10 years before that.

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What are you basing this on? You really think the level of defense is that much better today than it was when Jordan played?

[rakes.a.beach]

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i can't believe only 62% thus far have said jordan. phil jackson himself chuckled when asked who was better.

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I chuckled too.

[rakes.a.beach]

I think Jordan's better because I see a lot of people wearing his shoes.

Oh, and he won some MVPs too.

[DesertCat]

Kobe is shooting 45.2% for his career. He is shooting 46.2% this year (age 28).

Michael shot 49.7% for his career. When he was 28 he shot 53.9% from the field, in the middle of 5 years where his worst shooting year was 51.9%.

Kobe's best shooting year was 46.9%.

MJ's career shooting percentage at age 28 was 52%.

Some may think it's difficult to compare different eras. But there are ways.

Kobe Bryant is the 14th best percentage shooting guard in the NBA this year (better than he was last year).

Micheal Jordan was the #1 percentage shooting guard in the league during his twenties.

In 1991, league average shooting percentage was 47.2%. Jordan was over .5% higher during the prime of his career.

This year, the NBA average is a little over 46%. Kobe has shot league average or worse through out his career.

I don't think Kobe compares very well to Jordan. A better comparison might be Clyde Drexler. Kobe's strongest quality is a willingness to take a large volume of shots even when he has open teammates with better looks.

[capone0]

I love Jordan but Kobe took a lot more 3s. Atleast that's the argument your going to get.

[Taraz]

In terms of physical tools, I think Kobe and Jordan are pretty close. Athleticism, shooting, finishing, etc.

Jordan pretty much outclasses Kobe in terms of intangibles and the mental side of the game. Kobe has that drive to be the best, but he doesn't understand the team game IMO.