Does anyone think that Kobe Bryant is better than Michael Jordan in his prime?

Question

My idiot roommate actually believes that Kobe is better than MJ. Don't get me wrong Kobe is a great basketball player, arguably the best in this decade but c'mon better than his airness? If you agree with my roommate please explain why?

Answer 1

why don't you search for the "Is Kobe better than Michael Jordan questions" there must be 100 of them, stop wasting your points.
I'm pretty sure everyone is getting tired of this

Answer 2

I think, right now, Kobe wins if you throw away things like Championships and MVPs out the door! Kobe has better footwork then MJ ever had! MJ had a better team to get his Championships with and Kobe and the Lakers are still rebuilding! 81 points! Kobe doesn’t have the Playoff record MJ had yet… YET! But that’s the whole point. Kobe will get there and MJ will be the second best to play the game! SORRY! Right now, with all their total accomplishment, yeah, MJ looks better. But if Kobe was given the ball at MJs age when he was a rookie, Kobe would have had a higher scoring average and a team that was built for him, rather then Shaq! Kobe would have won 3-4 titles already and have like 5 MVPs! Kobe was the second guy for about 8 years! So, this is like his 3rd year to MJs 7th!

I would love to see a 30-year-old MJ vs. a 30-year-old Kobe!!! One on One…Kobe would win, but MJ would probably get more rings if they were in the exact same era! If they were both in their prime with the teams they had in their prime(Bulls 96-98 & Lakers 00-02)… Lakers would win 75% of the time! That would have been the best team since the old Show Time era, which is the best all around team ever assembled!!! !

Answer 3

You're right, your roommate is an idiot. He probably didn't see MJ in his prime. Anyway, I think it is actually absurd to compare the two. Kobe's still young and has a long way to go. Until he starts winning championships without the aid of a dominant big man and earning MVP honors in the process, there shouldn't even be any comparison in the first place. Yes, MJ had Scottie, Grant and Rodman during the Bulls' title runs in the 90's. But who was Finals MVP in those 6 championships? That's one argument.

Another thing you should remind your roommate was the number of times (8, I think) Jordan was selected All-Defensive First Team and the fact that he was actually Defensive Player of the Year in '88. And Kobe? He's all about scoring and his defense at most is above-average, but not in the level of Jordan, Pippen or Rodman who could shut people down.

Answer 4

People forget Kobe can't carry a team long term. He won 3 NBA titles faster than MJ but that was as second banana to Shaq. Michael was the main man with Pippen as his caddy.

And no one should say that MJ at his prime is the greatest ever. I point to Wilt Chamberlain and his stats.

Just imagine. People talk about Jordan's 63 points and Kobe's 81 points. Wilt had a 100 point game. He averaged 50 points a game FOR A WHOLE YEAR. He had a 78 point AND 43 rebound game. He is the only player to have 20+ points, rebounds AND assists in a single game. They had to CHANGE the rules to try to reduce his dominance (widen the lane, no broad jump free throws...)

Answer 5

No one's better than Michael in his prime. Michael's won NBA finals MVP six times! That award is the league's top prize, and Kobe hasn't won any MVP awards outside of the all-star game. When his career is over, I expect that Kobe could be considered a top 10 player, but Jordan's the best the game has seen. Kobe hasn't accomplished more than Bird, Kareem, Shaq, or Magic. Kobe does have time to catch up though. He'd have to lead the Lakers to the title at least three times to even consider him being the greatest player ever.

Answer 6

Kobe Bryant is better. He He can drive like jordan and mayb finsih not as well but he is a better long ball shooter. kobes numbers are very similar to jordans. 32 ppg 6 reb 6 ast
but jordan had better teamates so he obv will have mroe rings but by the end of the career kobe he will have just as much titles btu with worst teammates. Kobe si yet to win MVP tho thats a big down on hsi part

Answer 7

well, Im a great fan of Kobe. I believe he's really good and he's the best in the league today. But MJ is better because he helped chicago make a lot of championship rings and he is also good in assists. Well kobe can pass, and he made a lot of buzzer shots, but MJ made more. Hope this answers your question.

Answer 8

HELL TO THE NAH......Kobe can score but MJ makes his team better, and not to mention that Kobe's scoring may dominate games or make the papers but when he does, his team only wins by 5-10 points. MJ won 6 rings in an era ruled by dominant centers. Kobe can barely make the playoffs without Shaq..... and we all know Kobe's scoring doesn't motivate anyone but the press so MJ hands down!!!

Answer 9

This question gets asked a lot, and I answer it a lot, so I will try to simplify it a bit. Let's say there was a player in the NBA today who averaged:

-33 points per game
-6 rebounds per game
-6 assist per game
-3 steals per game
-1 block per game
-shot 53% from the feild
-shot 84% from the foul line

Would that player be better than Kobe Bryant? That's all Jordan's stats in his prime.

Answer 10

Phil Jackson has said Kobe is better!...are you calling the greatest coach of alltime an Idiot.?.....at 28yrs old Kobe has had a far better career then MJ at 28.......it's elementary

Kobe at 28 vs MJ at 28
Kobe NBA champion 3..........MJ 1
Kobe All defensive 6..........MJ 4.
Kobe 2nd highest pts 81........MJ 63
Kobe youngest allstar ever!!!!!!!!
Kobe allstar games 11.......MJ 7
Kobe MVP allstar game 2.....MJ 1
Kobe playoff games 126...MJ 35
Kobe youngest to score just about every mark...MJ 0
Kobe Most 3pointers in a game 12(record)...MJ..7
Kobe all NBA selection...9........MJ...5
Kobe cheated on wife 1...........MJ 1....wow! something there even in!!


to easy..lol.

Answer 11

In certain areas like rebounding & being able to defend small forwards (although Kobe is 2 & a half inches taller). But he has yet to average over 37 points in a season regardless of his offensive displays. We can't really judge until Kobe has a better team assembled around him.