You mean the old Kobe can't do that with even older Nash along with injured Howard/Gasol? Or are you assuming the 28 years Kobe wouldn't do that with prime Wade and Bosh all under 30 years old without any injuries?
come on these are all post de facto arguments- and kobe is having allegedly one of his best seasons... injuries - its so easy to pickup or aggravate injury when the atmosphere in lockeroom sucks... i bet if kobe was on that miami team there would be many injuries also remember bosh and wade played injured last year and they took the rings... if kobe was on their team and they sucked as his HOF(?!) team sucks now perhaps you would say they are injured...
Jordan was an amazing basketball talent, but he is a narcissistic fool who is terrible at scouting and managing talent, as his years with the Wizards and Bobcats have shown us time and time again. And speaking of narcissism, I think there is a pretty obvious reason he is more likely to side with the guy with more rings at this time... I wonder what he would have to say about this if Kobe had two more rings somehow... I think it's stupid that people take an opinion from a guy like Jordan so seriously just because he's a basketball legend. You can be damned good at playing a game but not know how to coach it, manage it, or analyze it, as star players have shown us time and time again.
Remind me in which of those games his team was facing elimination. And I find it interesting that you mention the year Jordan shot only 41% in the Finals (by far his worst Finals performance), but don't think it's worth mentioning that Kobe shot worse than that in three of his last four Finals appearances (40% in '08 and '10, 38% in '04).
Coming from the players...... Even at 50, Jordan leaves NBA stars in awe. Athletes more than willing to wear Michael Jordan brand is a testament to his greatness. A special player indeed. http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/41714646/
Ok, here's a better example. If rings meant everything, Chauncey Billups would rank higher than John Stockton and Steve Nash.
I'm probably one of the biggest MJ cheerleaders out there, BUT I completely disagree. 1. If there was an all-time draft of NBA players, in all honest, I would be compelled to not take MJ as #1, if my team held the #1 down to the #4 pick. I would consider the impact of the great centers on the overall aspect of the game to be stronger than MJs in actual gameplay. Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, and a motivated Shaquille O'Neal. I'll even say wing players, like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Oscar Robertson 2. Of all the player I just named, do you think Bulls would really go ringless, if they acquired any of the players above in their best 12 seasons. Pick Wilt, Kareem, Akeem, Bird, Magic, Oscar, Shaq, and even Kobe/LeBron. I still think the Bulls would be a fairly to legendarily dominant team. First squad: Pippen, Grant, Paxson, Armstrong, Cartwright - Second squad: Pippen, Rodman, Kukoc, Harper, Kerr, Brown, and Longley. Chicago is still the best team, or 2nd to 3rd best team at worst in those given years. With some of the players I mentioned, Chicago may have gotten past Detroit much sooner, especially with one of the centers or a floor general who could take advantage of that defense. 3. MJ made the Bulls legendary, but he did not put that championship squad, together...kudos to Jerry Krause. MJ often disliked most of Krause's moves, and frowned upon recruiting too many young players for their championship teams (Toni Kukoc).
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That would have to include LeBron has become the most Overrated Professional athlete in the history of all professional sports. I presume Rocket River