Sorry Jordan, LeBron is Way Better than Kobe

This past week Michael Jordan has been talking a whole lot to the media. Over the last week, Jordan has talked to the media more than he did for the majority of his professional career. I've got to say, I love that he is finally being outspoken, especially when it comes to all things basketball. He is the GOAT, so his knowledge and criticism and "hot takes" on the game, I believe and agree with mostly.

For instance, that dumbass Lavar Ball being the typical blowhard that he is, claimed he could beat MJ in one on one. He has said this about other former players, most notable Charles Barkley, and of course he is extremely out of his lane. If he thinks he could score one single point against Jordan, he is clearly crazy. I love that Jordan came back and said that he could beat him one legged. I would go so far as to say that Jordan could beat him even if he had no use in his legs, had his right arm tied behind his back and he gave Ball a 10-0 advantage in a game to 11. Jordan would not only beat him, he would physically and emotionally hurt him. It would be a massacre. And for Ball to say that he and his son Lonzo could beat Jordan and one of his sons in 2 on 2, again I say, shut your god damn mouth. Jordan would again own the elder Ball, and because they are Michael Jordan's kids, they have that killer instinct, and while they may not be as talented as Lonzo, they would get in his and his father's head, and they would win easily. As Omar said, "you come at the king, you best not miss". Michael Jordan would own him, and I'm glad he let that be known to the world.

Jordan did say something else this week that I have to say, I disagree with him. This is a very rare thing for me, because, as I stated earlier, I agree with pretty much everything MJ does and says. He was asked in some interview earlier this week if he thought Kobe Bryant was a better player than LeBron James. He thought about it and said that he thinks Kobe is the better player because, "there is something about 5 rings compared to 3".

Now, right off the bat, I disagreed with him. If we are going strictly off championships, and I have been on record many, many times saying that I think Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever, and one of the greatest athletes ever, then that makes Bill Russell the best basketball player ever. He has 11 titles. No one is even close to that, including Jordan. Also, again going on rings, that would mean that Robert Horry is just as good as Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Now, I love Bill Russell, and he is maybe the 3rd or 4th greatest player ever, but he is nowhere near the player that Jordan was, and I think, if they played in the same era, Jordan would have smoked him. And with Robert Horry, come on. He is a great clutch shooter, the best in my opinion, but he is not even on Kobe or even guys like Russ, KD and Kawhi's level. But, he has those rings.

Looking at other sports too, does Jordan's comments mean that he thinks Eli Manning and Peyton Manning are better QB's because they have 2 Super Bowl rings as opposed to Aaron Rodgers one? Or, is Trent Dilfer a better QB than Dan Marino because he has a ring and Marino doesn't? Does this mean that Paul O'Neill is a better baseball player than Chipper Jones? Does this make David Freese better than Adrian Beltre? You cannot compare championships to how good a player is. I'd much rather have MJ than any other basketball player. I'll take Aaron Rodgers any day over any QB, including Tom Brady. Give me Chipper Jones and Adrian Beltre if I'm going to start a baseball team with those players in their primes.

Going back to the main reason for this blog, lets compare Bryant to James. For me, LeBron is the far superior player in every facet of the game. LeBron, while being uncoachable at times, and a hard guy to play with, when you gain his trust, he believes in you no matter what. This is a dude that will put his full faith in someone with championships on the line. He doesn't always have to be the reason the team is a winner. The same cannot be said about Bryant. It always had to be about him. The Lakers were only good when he was good if you ask him. Never mind how badly he crippled that team 3 years ago, he still felt that he was great, even though his game clearly deteriorated. As a distributor and "point guard" of the team and focal point of the offense, again, James by a landslide. He is so good at finding the open player, attacking the rim and running the offense. The only thing Kobe has on LeBron here is a jump shot, but I'd rather have a 6'9 280 lb force attacking the rim than a 6'6 200 lb pound jump shooter any day. The only players that I think "see" the game the way LeBron does is Jordan and Magic. As far as defense, LeBron is way, way, way better on that end of the floor. He is one of the better chase down shot blockers ever, and he usually guards the opponents best player, or at least their best offensive player. Kobe Bryant was a fake All Defense performer. They just put him on the team to pet his ego. He is, in my opinion, one of the most overrated defenders to ever play in the NBA. LeBron, when locked in, is one of the better defensive players in the NBA. Finally, when it comes to durability, LeBron wins this one again by a landslide. He NEVER gets hurt. It is amazing how healthy he has ben his whole career. He has never, ever had a horrible injury. Some say it may be PED's, I just think he keeps himself in tremendous shape. We all saw how Kobe Bryant's career ended. Two torn ACL's, and many ankle sprains and bruised ego's throughout his whole career.

When you really break it all down, LeBron James is far and away the better player between the 2. I think Jordan is the greatest ever, obviously. LeBron is somewhere in my top 5, possibly top 3. Bryant, he is outside my personal top 10. He is very far behind MJ, LeBron, and even guys like Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon. I also think guys like KD, Steph, Kawhi, Russ and even someone like Giannis Antentekoumpo are going to surpass him in the very near future. So while MJ is right on almost everything, he is wrong about the Kobe vs LeBron debate. LeBron is much, much better.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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