![]() ![]() ![]() With the Lakers, Kobe has played with dominant low post presences like Shaquille O’Neal, Andrew Bynum, and Pau Gasol, who took up a lot of room in the paint. Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan have played on teams with different dynamics. Jordan driving past a young Shaquille O'Neal But as a fan of both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, I will attempt to compare aspects of each player’s game-which may be the fairest way to analyze the two legends. Kobe Bryant has been one of the most hated players in the NBA, whereas Jordan’s Nike marketing machine helped elevate his image to a deity-like position.ĭouble standards have run rampant, despite Jordan having worse antics both on and off the court.Įveryone has their biases and I surely have mine. It may be hard for some to consider both players with an open mind. For instance, does any one really think Steve Nash deserved two MVP awards?Ĭlearly, the MVP award does not go to the best player in the league, but rather the best player on one of the teams with the best record-with the caveat that the media has to like that player (note to Miami Heat fans: forget about Lebron’s chances this year of being the league’s MVP). There have been issues with the way the Defensive Player of the Year and MVP awards have been handed out. Further adjusting for the inflated statistics during the high scoring era in the 1980s would bring Jordan’s averages even closer to Kobe’s.įurthermore, stats don’t tell the whole story.Īnd finally, awards are not always the best way to measure NBA players. Taking out the first 3 years from Kobe’s NBA career would give him averages of 28.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, and 5.2 apg-very similar to Jordan’s career averages of 30.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, and 5.3 apg. Jordan played 3 years in college whereas Kobe played sparingly his first couple years out of high school in the NBA (which in part led to the firing of his first NBA head coach Del Harris). The NBA in the 1980s was played at a faster pace, and some years teams averaged 20 percent more possessions than teams over the past decade. However, each player had different career paths and played in different eras. Many of the arguments resort to a comparison of stats. There have been many assessments of Kobe and Michael over the years. He also threw some derision at Kobe, saying that Bryant was one of the top 10 guards of all-time. Jordan has come to prominence lately with his promotion of the NBA 2K11 game and his claims that he could score 100 points in a game if he were playing today. Saying that anyone else is better, especially someone as divisive as Kobe Bryant, is nearly sacrilegious. 5 seed in the East (43-39).Įven though Miami lost in seven games to the Atlanta Hawks, very few have done more with less than what Wade had that season, including Harden.Most people consider Michael Jordan to be the greatest basketball player of all-time. In that same season, he posted a 30.4 player efficiency rating with a 57.4 true-shooting percentage, leading the Heat to the No. In Wade’s best individual season in 2008-09, he averaged 30.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks on 49.1 percent shooting-one of the best two-way seasons in the 21st century, even though Wade did not win MVP. Wade was also the far superior defender and consistently conjured together performances conducive to team success in playoff and high-leverage situations, unlike his counterpart (consistently). Harden has greater individual numbers than Wade, if you compare their statistical resumes, though Harden’s supporting cast and usage rate in his prime Houston seasons supersedes Wade’s prime without LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal. ![]() When he was by himself, the Heat were trash. “I got over but I’m outta pocket,” Teague said on The Bradeaux & Will Show." “D-Wade had Shaq then he had Bron. Recently, 12-year NBA veteran Jeff Teague weighed in on where James Harden stacked up against Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade, who some consider the third-greatest shooting guard of all-time behind Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Especially in the age of social media, there isn’t a time in basketball when fans and pundits discuss the placement of the league’s great players since the NBA’s inception. ![]()
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