In any GOAT discussion in any sport, we must take into account the era they played in.
It's pretty pointless to compare people without looking at their impact on the game.
Jordan came through a very offensive-minded NBA, and still led the league in scoring many more times than Kobe has. With everybody scoring more, it's amazing that he was able to still stand out as he did.
With such an emphasis on solid team defense, it has brought everybody's scoring down a notch, so if Kobe really was as great a scorer as Jordan, he'd be leading the league every year. But now LeBron will be fighting with him over that every year.
Jordan's post-up fadeaway was TRADEMARKED.
Has Kobe done anything so special that he is known especially for it?
Kobe also started in the NBA at a much younger age, because players started coming straight out of high school. Him getting an earlier start against NBA competition should have allowed him to be better than Jordan by 21 (when Jordan was a rookie). But by the age of 21, Jordan OWNS Kobe.
When Jordan was playing, there was NEVER any doubt about who the best player in the NBA was.
During Kobe's championship years, he wasn't even the best player on his team. Shaq was.
And if you think that having another perimeter swing man (a la Pippen) is more helpful than having a dominant big man (a la Shaq) you're MAD.
Shaq goes to Miami, and all of a sudden Dwayne Wade is getting compared to Jordan for a short time, and he's scoring seemingly at will.
Shaq's presence is enormous, considering the Zone defenses of today's NBA. They simply cannot collapse on a scorer like they could if Shaq wasn't in the paint. Teams have to respect Shaq (or they used to).
How did the Pistons beat the Lakers in 2004? They let Shaq have his way in the paint because they realised there was no way to stop him. They just focused on shutting down Kobe.
Even when teams tried to shut down MJ, it couldn't be done.
Kobe is the best of his generation (but not by that much. As soon as LeBron develops an outside game to match his athletic inside game, he'll be better than Kobe)
Michael was a God amongst mortals. Even another player mentioned in GOAT discussion said it. I trust Bird's opinion.
There is no comparison.
I watched Jordan as a kid, and fell in love with basketball.
Kobe isn't as good a teammate, a defender, or a person as MJ. Jordan was the most marketable athlete ever.
I wonder what the Zen Master would say...
