Why is Kobe Bryant so much better than Michael Jordan?

Question

Kobe Bryant at 28 [now]
19296 points
4073 Rebounds
3561 Assists
MJ 28
about 16000 points
like 3700 Rebounds
around 2700 assists
sorry for the estimation of MJ's #'s they were educated guesses.
People think Kobe fans are just young people who've never seen MJ in his prime, but I honestly believe the #'s speak for themselves.
just a couple more stats: MJ at 28: a grand total of 0 Championships, Kobe at 28:3 Championships, guess Kobe isn't the only one who can't win without help huh? One last thing about KB24, his new motto I made up:
"Haters Haters they come by the dozen
but everyone knows #24 ot the whole world buzzin"

Let me destroy all of your idea's real quick:
#1- "Ticad" no I am not under the influence of anything.
#2 "#1con" Kobe if not as good as MJ is definitely the most comparable player in recent history to him.
#3 "TD" that's just weird and even if you hate Kobe give respect when respect is due
#4 "em87" My point making the age 28 is that that's what kobe's age is now, not to find a point in time where MJ didn't have much help (although I did) we don't know for sure Kobe want have as many Ring's as MJ, although it is unlikely.
#5 "Wes" Although MJ only had Harper at the point, he also had Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, Pippen's a top 50 player in NBA history; Rodman was one of the best rebounders of his era.
#6 "mavericksjake" look back I said kobe isn't the ONLY player who can't without help, meaning I admit the Laker's have struggled the past few years, but so did Jordan's Bulls when he didn't have Pippen and Rodman.

More stuff:
No "wingo" I am 13, and didn't start watching basketball until the 04-05 season, so no I have never watched MJ play.

"Rael Romone" the C argument is logical but you don't HAVE to have a dominant center look at the Spurs this year with Nazr Mohhamed as the starting Center. And you think the league is watered down now? That was possibly the least competive era ever.

"Cali M" Why does everyone think I'm smoking crack? I guess I'm an idiot for stating my opinion huh? You can argue your side of the opinion without calling someone an idiot, and saying that, perhaps YOU are the idiot doing something as stupid as name-calling because you don't agree with their opinion

Whatever. I've come to the realization that this argument will go on for a long long time, but nobody will ever truly know who is better because, the truth is it is all a matter of opinion.What makes sports interesting is that we don't know what will happen, if we knew what player was the best, and what team was the best, and sports were predictable, why would we watch?

Answer 1

To that i say... Amen!

Answer 2

one more thing to keep in mind....Pippen wasn't really an all-star or in demand until he was with Jordan. Jordan made Pippen an all-star like Shaq made D-Wade an all-star. Shaq also helped to make Kobe as well. Kobe has not made anyone around him anything. I'm not saying he's surrounded by tons of talent, but guys like Odom had better numbers when they were elsewhere. If that doesn't tell you something, you' blind to the facts.... Kobe is great, no doubt. I don't think he will ever be as great as Jordan because Jordan was a much more rounded ball player. Kobe is pretty damn good, but he isn't a team player and isn't as rounded as Jordan. Who knows, maybe as he gets older he'll understand more in life and become a better all-around basketball player, but for now, he's not better than Jordan. Until Kobe beats Jordan in all the stats, he's still less. I'm not talking about at the same ages, I'm just talking about bottom line. You can't say Kobe is better than Jordan right now because it's impossible to compare. The only thing he has done better than Jordan is score 81 points in a game. I would like to see him score 81 against Detroit or San Antonio. If he's such a great scorer, those are the teams to prove yourself against, not the Mavs or the likes....

Answer 3

Grand total of championships MJ won without a decent center: 6
Grand total of championships Kobe won without a decent center: 0

Before Jordan, at least an above average center (if not a good or great one) was considered MANDATORY to win titles. Give Kobe Luc Longley at the 1 and see how many WINS they get.

OK, Jordan had Pippen. So lets see how the Lakers can do if they can get the closest thing the NBA has to him. With a watered down league that should be enough, right? If they are smart they will trade to get Lamar Odom....oh, wait, they have him already.... and what did it get them?

If Kobe did indeed drive the Lakers to get rid of Shaq then he can't be called a great player under ANY circumstances, even amongst his peers (never mind history). Great players seek championships, not to be top dog on a team at all costs. OK, now he wants one now. He'll NEVER get another unless it's late in his career and he takes veteran minimum to join another team. No team will trade for him since the Lakers will want too much in return (they have to keep their high priced season ticket holders happy more than anybody else). Any team that trades for him will be lottery bound.

Answer 4

I believe things started getting worse for Kobe when the media tried to compare Kobe with MJ... eight-ten years ago. That really destroyed team chemistry, which was being entertained by other NBA teams.
Kobe being a young star should have been mentored more carefully with fundamentals of evreything about a star but not just basketball skills.
He started going to social events and charity activities, and he will be better year after year.
After all, Kobe is a basketball super star, who has his own friends in NBA (such as Tracy M.), and his haters. Remember when Shaq had "two flat tires" on his way to practice... did you (as a Lakers fan) hate Shaq for doing that? Did you laugh at it as a non-Lakers fan?

Answer 5

Let me tell you the official MJ stats, by the way you are right about kobe bryant's stats

Michael Jordan

16,596 points
3,186 rebounds
3,018 assists
1412 blocks
548 steals

Kobe Bryant

19296 points
4073 Rebounds
3561 Assists
Not to mention kobe also had more steals and 3 pointers
1,170 steals to MJ's 1,412
936 three pointers to MJ's 179
Although MJ did have more blocks
MJ-548 Kobe-467

Statistically, you are right, kobe bryant is better at age 28 than jordan was at age 28 but you have to account that kobe had 4 years head start, Kobe entered the league at age 18 and MJ entered the league at age 22. Those four years make a huge difference. if kobe were to start the league at the same age as MJ, he would be worse overall and statistically. Anyways I like both KOBE AND MJ so im not going againts either one.

Hope this helps

Answer 6

MJ at age 28
points-19000
rebounds-3697
assists-3507

looks like your right, except that Michael went to college and Kobe didn't. So at age 28, Michael had been in the leauge for 8 years, and at age 28 Kobe had been in the leauge for 11 years. Giving him 3 more years to compile points, rebounds, and assists. So lets look at MJ stats through his first 11 seasons

MJ at age 33
points-24489
rebounds-4879
assists-4377

So thats 5,193 more points than kobe, 806 more rebounds, and 816 more assists. Which makes Kobe not even close statistically to MJ.

Answer 7

I agree with the crack comment. Like Kobe, MJ was considered selfish and it was said he would never lead a team to a championship. He had help, but he was the undisputed team leader when he led a solid Bulls team to 6 championships. Kobe was a co-star, but Shaq was the leader of those teams.

You're right, numbers don't lie. At age 28, Kobe is a 10 year veteran. Just look at how close MJ's numbers are to Kobe's, yet MJ only had 7 years under his belt....I think MJ's numbers for 7 years of pro ball are more impressive than Kobe's at 10.

You're twisting stats to make your point; however, I can do that too. Compare Jordans first 4 years in the league with Kobe's and Kobe's stats are laughable. Of course that's just as unfair a comparison as yours since Kobe barely played at 18 and 19 years of age.

MJ had a much better shooting percentage and overall stats than Kobe. Kobe has not yet broken the 50% FG mark. MJ did it yet never played with another dominant player that other teams had to double-team.

I think you can make an argument as to who was the better athelete, Kobe certainly is right up there with the best of them, but there is no argument as to who the better basketball player is. MJ by a mile. We'll compare Kobe's career with MJ's when Kobe's done, and to be honest, I just can't see him coming close to accomplishing what MJ has throughout his career. I'm not saying it won't happen, just saying it's not likely. I'm a Lakers fan, but I'm no idiot. It would take an idiot to say that Kobe is better than MJ. There is a kid in Cleveland though that has a chance to be the best ever, we'll see how his career develops as he matures into the game.

Answer 8

If u wanna compare statistics-wise, Jordan entered the NBA at the age of 21 because he went to UNC; Bryant entered the league right after high school at 18 years of age. So it's only fair to compare in the same time frame. Bryant has an advantage because by now he would have 3-4 years of NBA experience while Jordan is just starting his (illustrious) career.

This is the totals and averages of both Jordan and Kobe:

Playing time:
Jordan: 22775 mins in 589 games (38.6 mpg)
Kobe: 23324 mins in 584 games (39.9 mpg)

PS. this shows that Kobe played more minutes than Jordan in the same time frame.

Points:
Jordan: 19000 (32.2 ppg) Kobe: 16541 (28.3 ppg)

Advantage: Jordan

FG%
Jordan: 7087/13644 (52%) Kobe: 5752/12646 (45%)

Advantage: Jordan

3pt %
Jordan: 206/725 (28%) Kobe: 783/2320 (33%)

Advantage: Kobe

FT%
Jordan: 4620/5456 (84%) Kobe: 4254/5046 (84%)

Advantage: Tied

Assists:
Jordan : 3507 (5.9 apg) Kobe : 3081 (5.3 apg)

Advantage: Jordan

Rebounds:
Jordan: 3697 (6.3 rpg) Kobe: 3435 (5.9 rpg)

Advantage: Jordan

Turnovers:
Jordan: 1799 (3.05 TOpg) Kobe: 1859 (3.18 TOpg)

Advantage: Jordan

Defense:
Jordan: 1594 steals; 623 blocks (2.7 spg; 1.0 bpg)
Kobe: 975 steals; 354 blocks (1.6 spg; 0.6 bpg)

Advantage: Jordan

This proves that Jordan is 6-1 against Kobe with one tie. This probably proves from a statistical point of view, Kobe will always be in the shadow of Jordan.

Now from a championships and accolades point of view:
At age 28 years old, Kobe has won 3 NBA Championships while Jordan has won ONLY 2 NBA Championships. I am sorry you are wrong. Another knock on Kobe would be that Jordan was the undisputed leader on the championship-winning Bulls team while the undisputed leader for the championship Lakers team were Shaq, not Kobe. Jordan also led the Bulls to a 388-268 record.(59% winning rate) while Kobe had a 408-248 (62%). But another thing is Kobe hasn't reach the 2nd round of the playoffs since Shaq left! Even Lebron took a weaker Cavs to the Finals! (no offence Cavs)

From a a personal accolades perspective, Jordan was a 3 time regular season MVP, 2 time Finals MVP, 3 time All-star game MVP, RoY (1984), and DPoY (1988), 6 times league-leading scorer to go with 6 time All-NBA 1st teams, 5 times all-defensive 1st teams, 7 time All-star game starter by the time he was 28.

From the time Kobe entered the league (to give him a longer time frame), Kobe has a grand total of 0 (just to take your lead) in regular-season, Finals MVPs and only has 2 All-star game MVPs to show for. He wasn't his year's RoY, never DPoY and 2 times league leading scorer, 5 time All-NBA 1st teams and All-defensive 1st teams. The only thing he has more has been his 9 All-star games starting apperances.

Answer 9

You have good stats listed, but you need to look deeper
first MJ won with Pippen, not a center. Kobe won with
SHAQ, and has not won without him.
Second Shooting percentage and assists and steals
MJ was better. Also realise MJ played two years of
college so you need to compare Kobe's number at
26 not 28. Also need to mention MVPs, Final MVPs
which Kobe has none (Shaq was Finals MVP all
3 times).

As a final test, teammates of MJ wanted to play with
him. Shaq's teammates wanted to play with him.
Kobe's teammates are just careful he does not
blame them for losing.

He scores alot I give you that, but shoots the most of any
player, and has a lower percentage thats why they
don't win games. Its true. But you can be his fan thats
your choice. Those who don't like kobe feel he is not a
team player.

Answer 10

Why take both of them at age 28? That's 3 more years in the League because Jordan spent 3 years in college. So let's compare stats through their 1st 11 years, since you seem so impressed with stats.

Jordan

Points - 24,489 (5,193 more than Kobe)
Rebounds - 4,879 (806 more than Kobe)
Assists - 4,377 (816 more than Kobe)

Don't estimate Jordan's stats, get the real things. Don't compare at their age, compare at an equal number of years in the league.

So, to take YOUR own words, the numbers DO speak for themselves when you compare them on an equal plane, and don't guess for one of them.

Answer 11

Kobe had a better team around him for most of his career this far than MJ did. Plus there is just so much more to being the best than stats. Kobe is selfish, he cant play with anyone who is remotely good because he ruins the team. MJ made people much better than they actually were. Kobe can score 80 points everygame if he wants, he still cant win. MJ was just a winner Kobe is really good at dazzling the eye, but he will always see the rear of MJ in terms of greatness.