[For_Never_EverParticipant]

[bloodshyParticipant]

+1 for that.  It’s cool to see the similarities in technique.

That said, Kobe is not identical to MJ.  MJ was substantially better.  Because of their highly similar technique and Kobe’s legitimate greatness, I’d call Kobe a poor man’s Jordan, which is still saying something.  But he’s a big notch below MJ.  For starters, consider the stats:

Career:

Kobe: 25.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.5 spg, .5 bpg, .453 fg%, .838 ft%, .337 3pt%

MJ: 30.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 5.3 apg, 2.3 spg, .8 bpg, .497 fg%, .835 ft%, .335 3pt%

MJ was above Kobe in almost every category, usually by significant margins.  Kobe had a tiny edge in 3pt% and ft%, but was substantially less efficient everywhere else.  Moreover, MJ’s stats include his two return years on the Wiz, when he was way past his prime.  During those years MJ shot horrible percentages from everywhere and did far less on the court overall, bringing down all of his stats.  If you subtract those years off MJ’s career, the stat gap becomes much bigger between these two and MJ is clearly ahead in literally every category.

Other notes:

Kobe shot .468 from the field during his most efficient season.  MJ shot better than that 10 times.  The only times MJ shot worse than Kobe’s best shooting season were his third season, the 17-games he returned from baseball, his final season in Chicago and his Wiz years.  Also, Kobe scored 30 ppg or better three times in 16 years.  MJ did it eight times.  MJ’s biggest scoring year he went 37/5/5/3/2.  Kobe’s biggest scoring year he went 35/5/5/2/.4.  MJ also had a season where he went 33/8/8/3/1.  Kobe’s closest all-around impersonation was probably 28/6/5/2/.5.  MJ was top 3 in steals and blocks one season, in addition to leading the league in scoring.  Kobe’s never had anything similar.

Additionally, I see MJ as the greater champion.  In college he led his team to the National Championship.  In the NBA, as the obvious best player on his team, he was unstoppable whenever he played over the course of eight seasons.  His team was garbage when he left.  Kobe is also great and has a number of championships.  However, he was clearly the #2 on those Shaq squads.  And when Shaq left, his team was barely a playoff team.  In his recent run, Pau was nearly as important as Kobe.  Kobe scored more on around 45% shooting, but Pau was the consistent efficient scorer at around 55% both times.  Additionally, Pau was great on D and a monster on the boards.

Furthermore, Kobe’s declining as we speak.  His scoring remains high, but his shooting from every spot in the field has declined each of the last four years, which means he’s turning into a volume shooter to get his numbers.  His defensive stats have also declined sharply over the last four years.

Kobe is one of the greatest players ever.  And his technique is as close to MJ’s as anyone I’ve seen.  But, as I stated earlier, he’s a poor man’s MJ.  He has the same technique, but he’s not the same player.  It’s really not close.

 

[aamir543Participant]

^ Get what you’re saying, but I always thought career averages were skewed because some guys don’t start out as stars and other guys run of gas at the end of their careers, so I like to take averages of guys’ primes, so excluding Kobe’s first two years and MJ’s last two.

[JoeWolf1]

 Kobe clearly modeled his game after Jordan, even going to the post in his early top mid 30’s.  I still feel Jordan is the GOAT, but Kobe is one of the greats as well.  

Although, Kobe was never the caliber of defender Jordan was he worked hard to improve that part of his game over the years.  Offensively, I feel Kobe is as good of a scorer, if not a little better, Jordan just was a more efficient player because he got more of his points at the rim for a longer portion of his career.

[Bird_YearsParticipant]

I will never claim that Kobe is equal to Jordan but offensively JoeWolf has a point, Kobe takes far more 3’s than Jordan ever did and this brings down his FG%, which is why I like the true shooting percentage (adjusts for 3’s being worth more as well as free throws). Jordan is still superior (career 56.9% to Kobe’s 55.4%) but the gap is a lot narrower than just looking at FG% would have you believe

[lgckevinParticipant]

but…

Kobe is probably going to end his career as top 5.  If you take off Jordan’s last Wizard years, then you have to look at taking away Kobe’s first years where he wasn’t established (and should have been in college).  His average jumps up closer to 28ppg and much better shooting percentages.   Kobe will never pass Jordan, for me, but as his career winds down I am beginning to realize that there may not be a better SG than him and Jordan.  I’d give Jordan the edge in scoring (best pure scorer ever), defense, passing, and reboudning.  I’d give Kobe better grades as a shooter.  

[Bird_YearsParticipant]

I thoroughly enjoyed that video though, big ups to For_Never_Never for posting it. With him on this site I almost never go to youtube.com myself anymore

[Steven]

 how can kobe bryant be better then MJ when all he did was learn from him. the master is MJ, and no one will ever be better. let me be clear, that is just my opinion. 

[Lebron’s HairlineParticipant]

 Kobes scoring numbers are not going to stack up to mj because Kobe had other great scorers on his team unlike Jordan.(shaq,pau). Look at Kobe’s numbers in 04-06 when he was the lakers only offensive threat he average 30+ and peaked at 35 a game. I’m not a Kobe fan I’m just stating facts

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 From the Walk to the gum chewing

From the Fadeaway J to the tongue out action

From the Wristband on the leg to the finger waving

From the slam dunk championships to the 3peat Championships

From the changing Jersey Numbers to the Left arm wristband

From the Heart,determination,hunger to be great,and ways to close out games……

Kobe Bryant is a MJ clone.

[F_S]

[DolanCareParticipant]

Kobe never quite reached Jordan’s level of dominance IMO. But what I find interested about this topic is the problem that arises when comparing their stats. Lets not forget that Jordan played with a significantly different set of rules. The current NBA makes perimeter defense MUCH harder, without handchecking and far less bumping in general. 

So while Jordan was a great defender, I have a hard time saying that he was undisputably better than Kobe. Could Kobe play at the same level defensively if the same allowances on defense were permitted in today’s league? 

And the same goes for vice versa… Wouldn’t Jordan put up even better scoring numbers had his defenders be hindered with the regulations of today’s players? Again, I think that Jordan was a better player, especially when it came to passing and slashing. (Kobe’s a slightly better shooter). But a true comparison can only be made if they played in the same generation.

[BrentSuriaga01Participant]

That is why it would made more sense comparing MJ’s game to Kobe rather than MJ to LeBron. I wonder why people compare them, they have different game style

[theballerwayParticipant]

I always felt Jordan was way more athletic or maybe explosive is a better word. Kobes had some nice dunks and that but they werent like Mikes.

The one edge Ill give Kobe is that he was a more creative ball handler imo. but thats it and alot to do with the era they played in

The copying the tongue wag is definately over doing it tho. lol 

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