Michael Jordan is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He has won numerous accolades and awards throughout his career, including six NBA championships, five MVP awards, and ten scoring titles. He was a key component in the globalization of the NBA during his time, which also cemented his status as a global icon.
But with elite status have come raging debates and comparisons of him with other great players. From players older than him like Bill Russell to those who started their careers after, like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, Jordan has been the subject of never-ending debates and arguments.
In 2013, as Jordan turned 50, NBA TV exclusively aired a special named ‘Michael Jordan at 50’ which featured Michael being interviewed by famous sportscaster Ahmad Rashad. During the interview, Rashad asked Jordan a burning question, he asked him to pick between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James as to who he believed was the best in the game at that point. Obviously, the potential GOAT’s opinion was very important here.
Michael Jordan’s career scoring breakdown (in games):
60+ PTS: 5
50-59 PTS: 34
40-49 PTS: 172
30- 39 PTS: 460
20-29 PTS: 428
10-19 PTS: 139
Less than 10: 13That’s why we address him as “His Airness!” 👊#NBA #Bulls #MichaelJordan pic.twitter.com/YwsQDyrKbJ
— Fadeaway World (@FadeawayWorld) February 3, 2023
Jordan was in a unique position to weigh in on the comparison between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Both players have been compared to ‘His Airness’ in terms of their skill and competitiveness, and many consider them to be among the greatest players in the history of the game. Although one might expect him to pick Kobe over LeBron straight away given his history with the two, he was quite hesitant in doing so.
How were Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant’s relationship?
In his answer, Jordan refused to clearly choose between the two players. He stated that both Kobe and LeBron have their own unique skills, qualities, and achievements. He started off on a light note, saying “That’s a tough one, right? I would say Kevin Durant. Nah, I’m just kidding.”
He then dove into the comparison, adding, “In terms of dominance of the game of basketball at this stage, it’s LeBron. Championship-wise, Kobe Bryant. He wants it so bad, he’s willing to go to the extreme, you know, guarding a guy, guarding a point guard at the age of 34, playing 38 minutes, 40 minutes. It’s ludicrous.”
Jordan was talking about Kobe’s competitive nature and relentless drive to win. He had a pretty good idea about it as he had faced off against Kobe quite a few times toward the final years of his career. In fact, Kobe was known to have modeled his game after MJ. The two shared a warm relationship on and off the court for a long time.
‘Hey Kobe, you’d beat Michael one-on-one’ and I feel like, yo, what you get from me is from him. I don’t get five championships here without him. ‘Cause he guided me so much and gave me so much great advice.”
~ Kobe Bryant on him or Jordan in one-on-one#NBA #BullsNation https://t.co/uncb3wrVbq
— The Jordan Rules (@Rules23Jordan) February 4, 2023
He then went on to mention an interesting point about Kobe, saying that he was “cursed as much as I am”. By ‘cursed’, he quite possibly meant just the obsession with winning that the two had in common. These were two players who would do anything and everything within their control to gain a competitive advantage over their opponents, regardless of whether anyone liked it or not.
However, he finally let Rashad know his choice, declaring cryptically, “If you had to pick, you know, between the two, that’d be a tough choice. But five beats one.”. He was referring to Kobe’s five NBA titles at the time as compared to LeBron’s one with the Heat in 2012. So, it’s safe to say that he did indeed pick Kobe over LeBron.
It’s worth mentioning here that Jordan made his choice without disrespecting either of the players’ skills or achievements and has also never been shy of praising LeBron’s incredible talent too. In fact, as we now know, LeBron would go on to win three more NBA titles of his own, one more with the Heat, one with the Cavaliers, and most recently one with the Lakers. His total stands at four titles now, still one less than Kobe.