> One of the biggest differences between the two stars from my perspective was Michael’s superior skills as a leader,” Jackson writes. “Though at times he could be hard on his teammates, Michael was masterful at controlling the emotional climate of the team with the power of his presence. Kobe had a long way to go before he could make that claim. He talked a good game, but he’d yet to experience the cold truth of leadership in his bones, as Michael had in his bones.”
> Jackson painted a similar picture on the offensive end. He cited Jordan’s superior efficiency and discussed at length how MJ’s “sturdier frame” and broader shoulders allowed him to do more on the offensive end.
> Mostly, though, he praised Jordan for his patience, for allowing the game to come to him—something Kobe rarely does.
by waynequit
22 Comments
It musta been a wild ride to have been MJs teammate
I’ve always gotten the idea that Kobe basically only cared about basketball in life while MJ was super competitive with everything but had some other interests
Like the idea of Kobe taking 2 years off to play baseball is unfathomable
we posting news articles from 2013? Slow offseason
You can wear the shoes, but you won’t fill em
Just like his son Jimmy
>Kobe was having a difficult time staying in the triangle and would frequently go rogue, which annoyed his teammates. Many of them told me they didn’t like playing with Kobe because he didn’t respect the system. I’d been through this before with Michael, but Kobe, who had recently turned twenty-one, wasn’t as mature and open-minded as Jordan.
>Kobe was also a stubborn, hardheaded learner. He was so confident in his ability that you couldn’t simply point out his mistakes and expect him to alter his behavior. He would have to experience failure directly before his resistance would start to break down. It was often an excruciating process for him and everyone else involved.
>One of those moments happened in early February. That’s when the team was struck by a puzzling malaise. After a less-than-stellar performance, I closed the locker room to all but the players and asked what had happened to cause them to suddenly stop playing together. Kobe was in the last row with his hoodie pulled over his head. I reviewed the demands that the triangle offense placed on each team member, then concluded: “You can’t be a selfish player and make this offense work for the team’s good. Period.” When I opened the floor to comments, there was complete silence, and I was about to adjourn the meeting when Shaq spoke up. He got right to the point, saying, “I think Kobe is playing too selfishly for us to win.” That got everyone fired up. Some of the players nodded in support of Shaq, including Rick Fox, who said, “How many times have we been through this?” No one in that room came to Kobe’s defense.
> The Blazers were killing us with high screen-rolls because Shaq was averse to coming out of his comfort zone and getting caught chasing after players such as Stoudamire or Smith. During moments like this, Shaq was in danger of falling into a downward spiral of self-defeat, which had crippled him during big games in the past. The perfect example of putting a head on top of a head. So I told him, in no uncertain terms, that this was his moment. He needed to move out of the lane and start breaking down the screen-rolls no matter what. He nodded in agreement.
>Then, with less than a minute left and the Lakers up by four, Kobe drove toward the basket and surprised everyone by lofting a beautiful pass to Shaq two feet above the rim, which he grabbed and dunked. It was a gratifying moment to see these two men come together for a perfectly coordinated play that put the game out of reach.
Its so strange how Kobe and MJ have followed opposite paths in the public opinion. MJ was universally loved and people are now starting to say actually “hes a bit of a ***”. And Kobe was pretty unpopular at one point and over the years people have come to appreciate him on and off the court.
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Goku vs Vegeta.
Jordan was better than Kobe, thats the difference
Jordan had unreal wire-y strength. He’s probably one of the strongest pound for pound players of all time. His ideal playing weight was only 213 iirc and yet he, like Phil said, had a crazy strong frame
Winning makes anything toxic seem like tough love.
Phil: “Michael also never raped anyone, so there’s that.”
MJ also never raped
this is from 2013. why post now.
MJ oozed rizz
Jordan was the ultimate winner and had the talent to back it up on the court.
Basketball is like art. An imitation can never be as good as the original. Because it’s goal is to be the same as the original and perfection is impossible. Kobe was as close as it will ever get to another Jordan. But there will be a better basketball player than Jordan. Some would say it’s already happened.
Phil Jackson: Michael was a bit more outgoing than Kobe
Reddit: Phil Jackson hates kobe
Arena staff are real fun to be around, in my experience. My gf lost her phone in the stadium when we went last and so we got to go into the belly of target center as all the people were clocking out. Retrieved the phone, rode up an elevator with like 20 workers, they were cracking jokes with me like they’ve known me for years.
One guy mentioned they should take us onto the court for fun. I laughed, thinking it was a joke. To this day I’m still certain they were serious and I missed an opportunity
“Michael also wasn’t a rapist”
I really liked Kobe as a player, partially because I grew up with the Jordan Bulls, and Kobe with Phil just gave some of that energy. It felt like a continuation of that team. But Kobe could also be infuriating to watch. I know over time, a lot people grew to love Kobe and speak about how he really became a teacher, etc. But that was Kobe later in his career. And, in some ways, it always felt a little artificial. Older fans will recall that when Kobe first came into the league, he had a reputation of being aloof. Some said it was because he grew up in Italy. Some say it was because he grew up well-off. Others say he was too focused on basketball. Maybe it was a combination, but a lot of people say he just didn’t really fit in at first. It’s also pretty understandable, since he was just 18.
Maybe there should be more empathy, since he basically grew into adulthood in the public eye. But I always thought it was a little cringey later in his career when he start gave himself the “Black Mamba” nickname after Kill Bill came out. And who can ever forget this photoshoot:
[https://bleacherreport.com/articles/388281-kobe-bryant-la-times-photo-shoot-what-was-he-thinking](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/388281-kobe-bryant-la-times-photo-shoot-what-was-he-thinking)
But some of Kobe’s change is probably just getting older and more mature. And there’s also the benefit of becoming the leader of the team, rather than either sharing or having to defer to Shaq.
Anyway, it’s always interesting to read other people’s perceptions of other players, and how it potentially differs by which generation you are from.
Jordan had the benefit of going to college and making some friends there. I believe he joined a fraternity while in school, too. It’s understandable that Jordan might have been more mature. He also didn’t have to compete with someone to be recognized as the best player on the team.
With all that being said, I wish Kobe was still around, and seeing the NBA on TNT guys, Jerry West, and Michael Jordan all talk about him will always bring me to tears.
Fun fact, there was a period in time where a lot of players were making rap albums. Shaq is the one that everyone knows about, but there were others…
[https://deadline.com/2021/05/kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-rap-album-hall-of-fame-induction-1234757106/](https://deadline.com/2021/05/kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-rap-album-hall-of-fame-induction-1234757106/)