The Kobe vs MJ debate

Kobe Bryant fans recently found an ally in Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, whose insightful comments grace the last page of the magazine every week.

In a column entitled "Like Mike or Even Better" (Sports Illustrated, March 3, 2003), Reilly stuck it to Michael Jordan when he put Bryant on a pedestal and just about called the Los Angeles Lakers guard the best thing that ever happened to basketball.

"At 24, Kobe has three rings," wrote the mesmerized Reilly. "At that age, Jordan had zero. At 24, Kobe has better all-around sense, a better J and, unthinkably, even more madly creative mid-air Gumbyness than Jordan did.

At 24, Kobe is hitting 38.5% of his treys; Jordan was shooting 18%. Over the last four weeks, Kobe was on a mind-warping, pupil-popping, scorched-earth tear during which he scored 35 or more points in 13 straight games. Jordan hadn’t done that at 24. Come to think of it, Jordan still hasn’t done that."

Reilly went on to deflate Jordan’s feats by insinuating that in powering the Chicago Bulls to six National Basketball Association (NBA) titles, he couldn’t have done it without Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman – that Kobe would easily lead the league in scoring if he didn’t worry so much about massaging Shaquille O’Neal’s ego – that "he’s got the Bally’s body at 24 that Jordan didn’t build until he was 30" – that Bryant is averaging 7.0 rebounds and Jordan beat that only once – that if Bryant plays until he’s 40, he’ll easily finish with at least four more rings to surpass Jordan’s total.

"They said nobody would ever punk Ruth’s numbers," continued the irreverent Reilly.

"Then came Aaron. They said nobody would go lower than Nicklaus. Then came Tiger. Just roll the possibility around on your tongue for a second. Kobe Bryant could end up the greatest player in NBA history."

Jordanaires, what do you say to that?

The Jordan versus Kobe debate is such a hot topic that we’ve been deluged by letters from readers sharing their views on it.

Joey of [email protected], for instance, had this to say:

"(It) reminds me of yesteryears when the purists debated on who was the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. In the end, they chose Ali, not that he was better than Joe Louis or Rocky Marciano but because he was well-known all over the world, in or out of the ring. The same can be said of Jordan. Like Ali, both are big news.

"I agree with you when you said Kobe is a great player but his name will always be associated with another great one, Shaquille O’Neal, just like the other great duos – Bird and Magic, Malone and Stockton. Can he do it alone like Mike? If there is one person who knows the answer, it’s Phil Jackson. All the years Phil and MJ were together, they had nothing but praises for each other. But how many times have we heard rumors that Kobe wants out or will be traded? How about his personal rivalry with Shaq?

Time will tell if Kobe can equal or surpass the achievements of MJ."

Joey, just a brief reaction. Bird and Magic never played together.

Eduardo Malabag of Arcadia, California, sent in this e-mail:

"I don’t know if you deliberately ignored Scottie Pippen so as to justify that Jordan has the edge on Bryant. Of course, the question will always be asked (if) Bryant would have won any ring without the convenience of a dominating O’Neal. But then again, put a twist to that question and ask (if) Shaq would have won anything without Kobe’s playmaking and crunch time abilities.

"The question should also fairly be asked (if) Jordan would have won anything without Scottie. I say no. Pippen took a lot of the burden from Jordan, particularly in setting up the triangle. All Jordan had to do was pick his spots and Pippen would give him the ball. Pippen was also gritty in defense. When Jordan left briefly, Pippen became the No. 1 man for the Bulls. When he was out alone, he never won anything. Why didn’t Pippen succeed? Because the Bulls were built around Jordan’s strengths, not Pippen’s. That’s why they struggled just like the Lakers struggled when Shaq was briefly out this season and Kobe had to lead them.

"The players around Kobe are role players or shock troopers acquired for Shaq. It is unfair to judge Kobe’s success or lack thereof during that brief stint without the Big Fella. Put Kobe in that same spot as Jordan with the team built specially for him and I can assure you, Kobe would have even greater success. For now, I guess let’s look at it this way. If Kobe can make all these scoring streaks, shooting records, etc., while playing in Shaq’s shadow and on a team not custom-built for him, imagine how he would be when the time comes that he’ll no longer be playing in someone else’s shadow and be on his own team?"

My comments? There must be a reason why the Lakers are built around Shaq, not Kobe. Think about it. Shaq’s a low-post threat and a scorching scorer. He attracts two or three defenders whether or not he’s in scoring position. At Chicago, neither Pippen nor Rodman was as potent a scorer as Shaq. It’s obviously Kobe’s good fortune that he’s paired with a center who invites two or three defenders.

Jaime Lacson of [email protected] had a short message: "No one will ever be like Mike. Not Kobe, not Vince Carter, not Iverson, not McGrady. He wore NBA rings because of himself."

Postscript. Catch the "March Madness" on Solar Sports starting tonight at 5 p.m. That’s right. The country’s No. 1 sports TV network has acquired the rights to air the US NCAA Tournament involving America’s top 64 college teams. The schedule lists two first round games tonight, two more tomorrow from 4 to 8 p.m, then two in the second round on Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m.

Monday’s games will be second rounders from 6 to 10 p.m. Then, on March 28, two regional semifinal contests will be shown starting 5 p.m.

Playdates are reserved for two more regional semifinals before Solar airs the regional finals on March 30 and 31. On April 6, it’s the Final Four starting 4 p.m. The NCAA championship game will be beamed live on April 8, Monday, at 9 a.m. with a replay that same day at 9 p.m. The NCAA Tournament is considered one of the US’ premier sports events and is the breeding ground for future NBA stars. Past NCAA champion teams have included Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Grant Hill, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton. The NCAA coverage is Solar’s third major sports property this year after the Australian Open and the NBA All-Star Game. Other events lined up include the golf majors such as the US Masters, US Open, British Open, and PGA Championships, the tennis tour’s French Open, US Open, and Davis Cup semis and finals, world title fights, pool and billiards championships, and basketball spectaculars like the NBA playoffs, the NBA Finals, the NBA draft, and the Olympic qualifying tournaments in the Americas and Europe. So stay tuned to Solar Sports on your favorite cable network.