MJ vs Kobe: Who’s The Greatest?

August 6, 2010 – The Hoop Doctors

This is a debate that’s been going on for ages and we’re by no means going to make a decision for you. Instead, we’re going to give you all the facts and let you make the final decision in our comments!

Click image for full sized version

Greatest of All Time

Source: Medical Insurance Blog

EMBED THE IMAGE ABOVE ON YOUR SITE

Brook Lopez is the Latest Big Man to Go Down for Team USA

Three Top 15 NCAA Recruits Ineligible for 2010 Season

Comments

Ammiller5421

dont get me wrong, jordan was great. absolutely great… but not the greatest. not even close.

if you think so, actually learn the history of the game. there were many greater players before and after jordan.

also; if you think jordan is the greatest, learn the rules of basketball. watch his tapes, he traveled a ton, pushed off a ton.

like i said, jordan was great. he just wasnt as great as the basketball world gives him credit for.

why not compare jordan and iverson?

Anonymous

So if Jordan isn’t the greatest of all-time then who is? And lets assume he isn’t the greatest, the point of the graphic is to compare Jordan and Kobe and to show just how great Jordan was in comparison to Kobe. Not much of a contest really. But i’m all ears to discuss who is better than Jordan as he’s widely accepted by anyone close to the game as the GOAT.

Ammiller5421

many of the stats on this page are averages, which can be misleading.

score 50 one game and 10 the next, thats 30 ppg

kobe has more skill, he has a better outside shot.

how many championships did jordan have at 31 years old? i dont know, i’m just wondering.

jordan had pippen to differ the defense, kobe hasn’t had that kind of perimeter support.

odom is good, but he’s no pippen.

kobe is defended by freaks of nature like durant and lebron.

jordan played in an era where there wasnt that much perimeter talent.

i have feeling had magic not contracted aids, we wouldnt be having this conversation.

bill russell is the greatest of all time, not only player but man in the nba

he won 11 championships, and i think 4 of those were as a player coach

, the first black coach in the nba

the lane was widened because of him, goal tending made a violation.

unlike jordan, he holds actual records.

wilt chamberlain can make a case for the greatest

his scoring was prolific, he scored 100 in a game i think jordans highest was 63 (kobes is 81

like jordan, wilt left after his 3rd year in college but wasnt allowed to play in the nba

he was a globetrotter… the first globetrotter to have his number retired.

he was also a prolific shot blocker and rebounder.

when it comes to the 4th quarter, reggie was the greatest… thats just my opinion, but his feats make a very good case for this.

dont get me wrong, jordan was great and i grew up wanting to be like mike. then i read more into the actual history of the game and realized that jordan is just one of many greats. when their feats are actually measured up against each other jordan doesnt stick out all that much.

jordans style was very similar to dr. j’s, so he’s not even original. he is the greatest of that athletic penetration type guard. the most similar to jordan style play in the game now is dwayne wade and dwade does a darn good job. guys like kobe, vince carter and jason richardson are and evolution of this style. these players have great range with their athleticism.

and the grafic says who’s the greatest, my point is that neither can be seen as the greatest.

dnice81

Holly ish I can’t believe u just said kobe didn’t have the perimeter support jordan had like that’s a big deal. How bout jordan didn’t have the interior support kobe had! Before we compare teammates let’s remember he was a role player on first championship 4th yr in league. Side kick the next two and when he was supposed to be the number one guy what happened against pistons in finals he shot 38percent for the series not a game series! While shaq put up great numbers and well over 50% from field in same finals kobe just wanted mvp more than the ring that’s why they lost! Kobe is the ultimate me first guy and has never been good enough to be that guy. And pippen needs to remember what happened in 98 finals he reinjured his back on first play of game 6 went on to score8points struggled on d and what does jordan score 41 of teams first 83points down by 3 with 40secs left jordan goes coast to coast layup,then steals the ball from malone and hits game winner at 35yrs old! When going got tough he got tougher! Kobe as leader of lakers on 4 apeareances is 2-2 and never played a game close to that period!

http://twitter.com/pearso66 Jaime Pearson

You think coaches today aren’t worried about ego’s? I think ego’s are way bigger now than they were back in Jordan’s day. Has there ever been a player that devoted a 1 hour special to tell people where he was going to sign as a free agent?

Also on Phil Jackson, take it for what it’s worth, but who plays for him right now? You don’t think that if he coached Jordan now and Kobe in the past he wouldn’t say that Jordan is the better player right now?
Soccergirlie003

i think it’s pretty obvious. MJ
bignasty

Unfortunately we cannot fully compare the two. In the 27 years since MJ was drafted into the League the game has changed. Anyone who watches it regularly can tell that. The game today is much more physical, as an example, and because the game has changed, it throws too many variables in the mix to fully be able to compare the two players. All we can say is that they truly are great players and I enjoyed watching MJ and now enjoy watching Kobe.

As a side note the same thing goes with comparing King James and MJ.

byrdman27

the game is much less physical now actually

Shaibani

Michael Jordan is the GOAT. No contest.
Warapyall

Ummm, i still have doubts… xD
http://www.facebook.com/KatieIzAwesome Katie Brainerd

Thats a stupid question, it will always be Jordan. Sorry, but that man is single-handedly the greatest NBA player of all time.
http://www.facebook.com/KatieIzAwesome Katie Brainerd

Thats a stupid question, it will always be Jordan. Sorry, but that man is single-handedly the greatest NBA player of all time.
http://www.facebook.com/ronniel33 Ronnie Mcintosh

go jordan cant no 1 beat em dont kno y ppl keep lookin jus like there will never be another tupac or biggie

Ammiller5421

comparing him to tupac and biggie would imply that he was original. jordan was not, he copied his game from one dr. j (julius erving). the man said so himself. the greatest is bill russell, more championships more records. he was also the first black coach in the nba and also the first black coach to win a championship, he did that as a player coach. jordan could do nothing but jump high and run fast. he’s not even a top 5 player. the greats dont take breaks, jordan took 2. bill russell will be the greatest until someone else gets over 10 championships. basketball is a team sport, and russell’s celtics won 11 of 12 championships. if you dont think thats the greatest, you need to know what great is.

compared to kobe, mj was better but only marginally. both players had the advantage of having the greatest coach in nba history, phil jackson. neither won a championship without him, im pretty sure.
Ammiller5421

comparing him to tupac and biggie would imply that he was original. jordan was not, he copied his game from one dr. j (julius erving). the man said so himself. the greatest is bill russell, more championships more records. he was also the first black coach in the nba and also the first black coach to win a championship, he did that as a player coach. jordan could do nothing but jump high and run fast. he’s not even a top 5 player. the greats dont take breaks, jordan took 2. bill russell will be the greatest until someone else gets over 10 championships. basketball is a team sport, and russell’s celtics won 11 of 12 championships. if you dont think thats the greatest, you need to know what great is.

compared to kobe, mj was better but only marginally. both players had the advantage of having the greatest coach in nba history, phil jackson. neither won a championship without him, im pretty sure.
Ammiller5421

comparing him to tupac and biggie would imply that he was original. jordan was not, he copied his game from one dr. j (julius erving). the man said so himself. the greatest is bill russell, more championships more records. he was also the first black coach in the nba and also the first black coach to win a championship, he did that as a player coach. jordan could do nothing but jump high and run fast. he’s not even a top 5 player. the greats dont take breaks, jordan took 2. bill russell will be the greatest until someone else gets over 10 championships. basketball is a team sport, and russell’s celtics won 11 of 12 championships. if you dont think thats the greatest, you need to know what great is.

compared to kobe, mj was better but only marginally. both players had the advantage of having the greatest coach in nba history, phil jackson. neither won a championship without him, im pretty sure.

http://www.facebook.com/ronniel33 Ronnie Mcintosh

go jordan cant no 1 beat em dont kno y ppl keep lookin jus like there will never be another tupac or biggie
Lebron James

who ever made this , ur a idiot … why doesnt kobe have the # 8 in his bio also… oh forgot about that
Schneids15

they have michaels jersey number right but kobe wore number 8! people forgot already?!
Schneids15

they have michaels jersey number right but kobe wore number 8! people forgot already?!
Zpoole

Maybe it should be taken into account that Jordan’s team only started winning during the 90s, one of the weakest eras of basketball ever and Kobe’s playing in one of the toughest.
Awec

no questions asked… jordan.
volleyball_girl897

you can see that michael jordan is clearly better than kobe bryant. i mean come on. seriously people?
volleyball_girl897

you can see that michael jordan is clearly better than kobe bryant. i mean come on. seriously people?
volleyball_girl897

you can see that michael jordan is clearly better than kobe bryant. i mean come on. seriously people?
volleyball_girl897

you can see that michael jordan is clearly better than kobe bryant. i mean come on. seriously people?
volleyball_girl897

you can see that michael jordan is clearly better than kobe bryant. i mean come on. seriously people?
Theetonyt

MJ was an incredible talent but the game has completely changed from when he played to now. Kobe has to play in a league that is filled with more athleticism and talent than there was in Jordan’s era. Nearly every team has a “superstar” in the league today and that make the competition way more intense and challenging. Im not saying Kobe or Jordan is better but I am saying the league has become more resilient to players being able to just dominate every second of every game. Look at Lebron, he is possibly the most athletic and all around talented player to ever play the game but he still can’t find a way to win a ring…..even with two other phenomenal players on his team.

Anonymous

That is a ridiculous statement to say that players today are more athletic than when Jordan was playing. You’ll need to show some proof, otherwise its just an opinion. And there are many people around to watch both era’s that would say Jordan’s era the players were more all around athletic and less specialists.
That said, it’s undisputed that the rule changes in the modern era like the ‘no hand checking’ on the perimeter have had a postiive impact on guards ability to score. Given Jordan’s style of play and how he no only got hand checked by defenders but literally got hammered taking the ball to the rim, you have to realize Jordan would have dominated in today’s game vs. the 80′s and 90′s.

http://rodolfogrimaldi.com Rodolfo Grimaldi

There is no comparison between the two, :)
KDFTW

I can’t believe people think it’s even a contest. It’s not MJ is the king. Plain and simple. But to update this picture. Kobe was also number 8 at the beginning of his career and number 10 in the ’08 olympics. Not sure if he was any other numbers, but you have all of MJ’s numbers so for the sake of completeness those could be added.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Regan-Tong/1602660331 Regan Tong

You could say that the people Kobe plays aginst are far better/proficient defenders. Im not saying this is thrue but its not fair to comopare only on paper.

Anonymous

Actually you couldn’t say that at all. Because of the rule changes not allowing for handchecking on the perimeter, defenses and defenders were far more proficient defenders when Jordan played. That is why conventional wisdom says if Jordan played in this era his point production and success would have been even greater than it was. Not less. Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry Torch 9800

http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Carpenter/100002922369264 John Carpenter

Fresh and interesting basketball news! Basknet.info – http://www.basknet.info/
Christian

The biggest argument for this topic is that they were in two completely different era’s. If you put Kobe in Jordan’s era, he would shine brighter, if you put Jordan in this era, he wouldn’t do nearly as good. The players now are bigger, faster, stronger, and better. It is hard to make an accurate comparison because of this fact. Both are great players.
Chrisjh

agree with rick. though kobe is with out a doubt an exceptional player. best in the league right now. compred to jordan, there is no comparrison. jorand will triumph over any other player. and please people dont try to through lebron into it. sure hes good. but nowhere close to jordan and he def is under kobe. reason why this thing was made about kobe and jordan instead of lebron, biggest ball hog and ego ever.
Bkmeurer

Kobe is a bitch because he won’t play in the NBA because they don’t pay him enough. He is receiving $600,000 per game outside the U.S. The greater player is the one who plays for the love of the game, not just the money. Also, all of the temper tantrums kobe had on the court in all of his years don’t enforce a role of an idol.

tez

correction dumb ass.. the nba is on hold so he went to play elsewhere…
BECAUSE HE LOVES THE GAME… @1e05d2484015d0398004e719b062bcac:disqus you’re a bitch

theoneandonlyMJ23

@Ammiller5421 Everyone hates you cuz ur a dumbass.. how does it feel to have possibly said the dumbest comment in the history of earth?
unknown

No one thinks about how the game has changed. You cant compare the two because the game has changed so much. MJ would kill anyone if they had to play like they did in his time. Now if you so much as sneeze on a guy he’s going to the line. Travalling doesnt exist anymore, you can pick up your dribble at the 3 point line and walk to the basket. All i’m saying is that stats can be miss leading and i doubt it would be even as close as it is if the game had changed as much as it has
http://www.facebook.com/frickshiss Tevin Assasin Bryant

The game is much faster today than it was 20 years ago bud.
Lil_balla13

The NBA is way harder now than it was when jordan was playing i doubt mj would be as dominant now as he was then but if you put kobe in his time frame it would be complete domination like mvp every year championship every year with out a doubt

Anonymous

Why do you think its harder now? Most would agree that the rule changes now that prevent hand checking on the perimeter, and the clamping down on any contact of players once they are airborn favors guards in the modern game vs. guards in Jordan’s era.
Some have even said, based on Jordan’s slashing style from the early part of his career he would have averaged 50 pts a game instead of mid 30′s when you factor in all the free throws he would be shooting.

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry Torch

Lil_balla13

The NBA is way harder now than it was when jordan was playing i doubt mj would be as dominant now as he was then but if you put kobe in his time frame it would be complete domination like mvp every year championship every year with out a doubt
Mikepage239

Well MJ it alway has and will always be!
MJ.GOAT

hahah this is hilarious, Kobe better than Jordan? hahahaha . Kobe’s good but hes soft. nobody took contact like mike did. The nba is SOFTTTT. I dint even get to watch Jordan play , but i know Kobe’s got nothing on jordan. People talk about his 81 pt game? damn if Mike played that game with that defense. He would of easily scored over 100. Raptors at the time were like the shittiest defensive team. Put Kobe against the The new york knicks and Detroit pistons denfense that played mike. HAHA Kobe would be crying fuck. You people are too stupid to argue with . Get off Kobe’s dick.
Jmarren12

Jordan is clearly the best. In 20 years, nobody is going to compare the hot young prospects to Kobe, or to LeBron for that matter. Jordan will always be the standard by which greatness is measured
Chrised94

i am a die hard laker fan and anyone who says kobe is better is ignorant.
kobe is my woman

81 pts baby!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_2PJZ45UMPLMLZFF22NEOWSWEZQ Steve

Michael Jordan wins for sure! Its not even an option! Great post!