No rivals. "I've outgrown them all, from A.I. (Allen Iverson) when I first came in to (Tracy) McGrady to Vince Carter and so forth and so on."
It's true. He had no rivals from his generation. AI/TMAC/Vince all couldn't sustain their level of play. LBJ and Wade came too late. The media is the only one hyping the Bron/Kobe rivalry when there is none.
Kobe would need two more titles to prove that he's better than Michael for sure, but one more sounds more realistic. He's right, he better than all those players. But one team he HATES is the Phoenix Suns. He simply hates this team and always puts on a show against them. He sure would like to win against the Heat, but he Knows LeBron ain't even close when it come to wins and closing out games.
Kobe with 5 more rings wouldn't make him better than Michael. Have you seen the individual accolades between the 2? It's embarrassing to even put Kobe in the same conversation. How many FMVPs b/t Kobe and MJ? How many times have MJ lost in the Finals? How many game 7s have MJ faced in his career?
Reading about Kobe makes me sad, makes me miss the real deal in Jordan. It like someone comparing Ewing and Olajuwon.
Kobe isn't MJ, not at all. MJ is undisputed, but even MJ says : So while MJ is undisputed at the top, Kobe is the best we got and closest thing, but not there and will never be at MJ's level, but he still is at another level from everyone else. Lebron, Wade these guys are in their prime right now and not just years younger than Kobe, but in terms of miles considerably younger. Kobe made a good point, when he came into the league, Dwade and lebron were middle school ages. Kobe's best legs and athleticism are behind him at this point,b ut hes still doing great things which is a testimony to what MJ says in that he is just doing the work to reach that new level
Jordan had that swagger too. Kobe gets knocked for being Jordan-lite, but what kid didn't want to grow up and be like Jordan? He had the talent and skills like many others that came before him, but his luck and drive forces him into the conversation of greatness. I hate the dude, but nowadays it seems like you gotta hate someone till they retire or unexpectedly die for you to acknowledge their accomplishments...or flip 180, do some memory revisions, and lionize him
Don't be naive the closest thing to a MJ is Kobe. The skillset, footwork, and attitude towards the game.
The reason he didn't have a rivial because none of those guys consistently matched up against him in the playoffs. Only Iverson played against him in the playoffs and they were not even matched up against each other. Most rivals are made in the playoffs.
I don't know if the Bulls would be better if you replaced Quitten with Shaq. Less room to operate around the paint and Quitten later rotated to MJ's defensive assignments to give him more slack and energy on offense. Pippen was the ultimate Robin for MJ, and the triangle made it so that you didn't need a dominant center in an age with quality centers. I mean, the triangle "worked" during the Laker days, but even Kobe admitted it was because the two were that good to make it work. I think you would see the same tensions, if not worse if MJ and Shaq were paired up.
Kobe's main rivals (position wise) were: Vince Carter Tracy McGrady Allen Iverson Legacy wise were: Shaquille O'Neal Tim Duncan He's outlasted his competitors. I've never seen a Lebron vs. Kobe rivalry, as Kobe's prime came when Lebron wasn't even in the league, yet to being a 3rd or 4th year player. Arguably, you could say Kobe was the best player from about circa 01-02 to 06-07 and almost unquestionably when Shaq's numbers started to decline.
6 rings. Finals MVP in all of them. 5 MVPs. 10 scoring champions. Defensive Player of the year in 1988. Only player ever to have 200 steals and 100 blocks in a season. 2nd all time in steals. Most blocked shots by a guard.
You can also argue Kobe was never the best player in the league. I personally believe Shaq was better than Kobe the entire time he was on the Lakers. Really it is a wide open discussion.
Alot of people would unquestionably consider MJ to be the greatest NBA player ever. For the most part, I think he arguably is the greatest, but in such debate I think he could fall as low as 5th or 6th. Though, he's still better than Kobe. As great as MJ was, there was myth out there that he was carrying this team to unbelievable height, yet the Bulls were a losing team in his first 3 seasons and didn't reach the championship until his 7th season. After the Bulls rosters got better, and the Bad Boys sort of faded. The Bulls didn't get over the hump until Pippen and Grant started to become all-star caliber players. Moreover, they only lost a few games more in 93-94 than previous season with MJ and were very close to knocking off the Knicks. Additionally, if you replace MJ with any other top 10 to 18 player, there's no way the Bulls would win less than 3 championships, outside of freak injury. You throw Wilt or Olajuwon in their primes on the Bulls without MJ. Still a very formidable team with a historically great front line possible. Wilt (or Hakeem) with Grant and Pippen, while you have outstanding shooters like Armstrong, Hodges, and Paxson. In Wilt and Olajuwon would wreck havoc in paint, yet have all of these deadly outside shooters sitting around. On the other side, I'm dissing Patrick Ewing or the Knicks, but would it have been any easier to beat Chicago, if MJ were erased and replaced with one of the players above. Pippen and Grant in their prime playing with Oscar Robertson or Magic Johnson at their best. Those duos would be fun to watch. Pippen and Grant with Bird, Dr. J, Shaq, Lebron, Isiah Thomas, or even Kobe. You pair any of these guys with Rodman, Pippen, Kukoc, Harper, and others. Specifically, Olajuwon, Wilt, Oscar, Kareem (early in his career), or even the underrated Rick Barry, they never really played on talented teams, like that in their primes, necessarily. Honestly, I wouldn't see a big drop-off. The Bulls had a very good team without MJ. That's why they won so many titles.
