If you think Jordan didn't play against zone defenses, you must be new to the nba, zone defenses were really only called when the zone didn't match the offense. Riley when he was the Knicks coach used to call them "dinky 1-2-2 trapping defense", can you guess what sort of defense that is? Zone defenses that weren't Jordan rules zone (where they followed Jordan and not the ball, yes there were teams that really did this) used to get lit up as giving michael free room was tantamount to suicide.
Telltale signs of Kobe jocker: 1. They bash Kobe's teammates just to make him look better. 2. They claim everyone else (Jordan, Lebron, Wade, etc.) get preferential treatment from the refs, while Kobe doesn't, which is just bunk. 3. They claim that 90's era defense was less tough than now, when nothing could be further from the truth; watch any 90's Knicks-Heat game tape lately? 4. Somehow claiming that Kobe has a great playoff record without great supporting teammates; oh yeah wasn't he demanding a trade just a few years ago? MJ is better than Kobe is every way except three point shooting, and is a much greater player overall. This is indisputable. The only place this argument even exists is in the minds of Kobe jockers and sports writers looking for some hits on their web site.
People always argue about how much more 'skilled' kobe is than jordan was because Kobe takes and makes more 3's. The thing is, Jordan didnt need to shoot 3's. He got to the basket at will. In a much more physical league, Jordan was much more dominant. Check out his FG% year by year and for his career. I believe its something like MJ's worst fg% years are near Kobes BEST fg% years. Kobe, while a good defender, is still vastly overrated for his defense. IMO Jordan was clearly better on D. I know steals isnt a good way to measure overall defense, but heck Hakeem has more steals than Kobe does! Oh and its true that if Jordan didnt have Pippen things might have been different. But honestly that goes double for Kobe. His teams were atrocious when they werent fully stacked with talent. Jordan did more in the years he had less, IMO. I honestly feel that when you start comparing championships Kobe's first 2 and possibly 3 shouldnt really count when comparing him to others. Yes, he earned those rings but he wasnt THE MAN on those teams, Shaq was. Its similar to how you can say well David Robinson has a ring so he and Hakeem are on par..NO, DRob was a supporting player to TD while Hakeem was def. the man. Even now, Kobe has the best team in the league but he is def. THE MAN on his team so the last 2 rings is really what I look at.
SMH. i would slap myself if i believed that. forget the rings: stats and individual accolades ALONE put MJ above kobe by several miles. the gap is ridiculously large.
Indeed. This post is so crazy it sounds like a spoof of a Kobe stalker. Amazingly, it's not a spoof. Not so amazingly, it's by goodbug.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/stats.html So much about physical defense. The reality is only last 3 years of MJ's career had defense on par with today's. The first half of 90s was much more fast-paced than today. The shooting % was high due to fastbreak points. And players back in the time couldn't shoot 3 as well as today. Let's not get to 80s when MJ collected his stats, the defense was a joke. Raptors of 06 gave up less points than Pistons of 87. To put it in perspective. The league averaged 109.9 points in 1987, and 97.0 in 2006. Kobe averaged 35.4 ppg in 06, it would be 40.1 in 87's pace and defense efficiency, when MJ put up 37.1.
has kobe ever shot 50%? how many MVPs has he won? how many DPOY? how many times has he led his team to the championship as the main guy? how many finals has he lost? how many years have kobe been the undisputed best player in the L? answer yourself those questions and you will slap yourself.
Kobe would have shot 50% if he played in 80s, the league had higher fg% and joke defense. There's no doubt MJ's more efficient than Kobe career wise. Before he retired first time, MJ's a slasher, not a jump shooter like Kobe. But this is a double-edge sword, before MJ developed into a good shooter, he couldn't coexist with a post up player like Shaq. LeBron couldn't. There are only so many shots available down low, if you small get there routinely, your big has to stay outside, and lose the edge of offense rebounding. Kobe lost 2 finals, but he had more finals than MJ. And he has more All D team than MJ. And above, he excels in a league that has lots of great swingman and he actually needs to play on both sides. MJ didn't have to work as hard and Pippen has been taking the toughest assignment all the time. Kobe didn't have a dependable wing defender until Ariza's a starter, even then, Melo abused Ariza in playoff and Kobe had to switch in 4th quarter. What matters to me is the add-up of contribution to championships. Kobe outperformed Shaq in WC playoff in 01 and 02, and championships were won there. Sure Kobe still needs a couple of rings to catch MJ but he's much closer than you try to put out. And I understand the haters are scared the hell out of it that's why this is brought up.
i'm sorry, but i have to repeat myself: please slap yourself back into reality once again. in 02-03 when jordan was 40 years old, he shot 44.5%. in 02-03, kobe shot 45%. just please stop and bring up the 80s or whatever. jordan was simply a better shooter then kobe simply b/c jordan's midrange game ridiculously great. MJ couldn't coexist with a post player? if kobe (who is a worse teammate) can coexist with shaq for 3 years, what makes you say MJ couldn't? hell, his competitive fire might make shaq a more dominant player. MJ has won 6FMVP (the award you like to brag about for kobe). kobe has 2 (last year he didn't deserve it b/c pau outperformed him). furthermore, MJ won a defensive player of the year award, something kobe has never sniffed. furthermore, MJ won 6 MVPs (and easily could have won more). kobe has freakin' 1. furthermore, MJ was arguably the GOAT after 3 rings, and confirmed it with 6. kobe has won 5 and he barely cracked the top 10-15 of all time (that should tell you a lot). if kobe wins 6 rings, he's a winner like MJ. but look at what both have to do for their teams and how dominant each was, MJ was the better player, by MILES. nobody is scared. it's just annoying. it's like saying tmac was better than kobe before or david robinson was better than hakeem. it was brought up, but it was annoying.
Even Phil Jackson says MJ was in a realm of his own. Kobe nearly made PJ quit and write a book about it
If nobody's scared, why do Kobe haters need to bring it up and seek help to reinforce their faith? I only see that in religion.
i don't hate kobe. i've said many times he's a top 10-12 player of all time if he retires right now. he's one of the best players i have ever watched in my life. he's just miles behind michael jordan. you're comparing kobe to the greatest of all time. you just jock him too much like he's your long lost son. this is like saying derrick rose is the best player in the L right now. that's stupid talk.
