It's obvious to anyone who has watched Kobe Bryant play basketball, chew gum, or talk to the media that Bryant is one of the many basketball players in the world that want to be like Mike.
However, unlike the rest of those players Bryant has been lucky enough to draw comparisons with the undisputed best player in the history of the Association.
Bryant's game resembles MJ's more than any player in NBA history and there is a good chance Bryant will have more rings than MJ when he leaves the game.
When it’s all said and done Kobe is going down as one of the five greatest players in league history because of his body of work.
However, comparing Bryant to Michael Jordan will never be warranted for one reason: Jordan’s superior success against superior competition in the NBA Finals.
A lot of people like to say that players are only judged by championships, but that simply isn’t fair unless you are a closed-minded sports fan.
Each championship a player wins should be evaluated and a few questions should be asked during that evaluation.
Contrary to popular belief, all rings aren’t equal.
For example.
If Dwight Howard wins a championship before he retires, does that make him a better player than Charles Barkley and Karl Malone?
My Vote: Absolutely not, not even if he gets multiple rings.
Malone and Barkley were one of many players with the unfortunate task of trying to get a ring during the Jordan-era.
Furthermore, David Robinson got two rings with Tim Duncan carrying the load after a lot of the greats of his era had retired, but before that he was notorious for coming up short in the spotlight.
Patrick Ewing lost to Hakeem Olajuwon in the Finals and had historic battles with Jordan in the Eastern Conference, but never got a ring.
Was Robinson really that much better than Ewing?
My Vote: No way. I am not big in moral victories, but Ewing’s heroic shortcomings outweigh Robinson’s riding of Duncan’s coattail as a sidekick.
Here are two similar questions you have to ask when you evaluate Jordan and Bryant historically.
(Image courtesy of Upperdeckblogs.worldpress.com)
Question one: Was that player the best player on his team when he won that championship?
Question two: How much competition did that player face during his championship run?
Point one: Jordan played against better competition, yet he never lost in the NBA Finals.
Bryant has walked off the court in the NBA Finals as a loser twice.
Once to the Pistons because of a hissy fit with Shaq, the other time against Boston when Paul Pierce arguably got the best of him.
In the NBA Finals Jordan beat the Showtime Lakers led by Magic Johnson, a great Portland team led by Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley in his MVP season, the Sonics led by Kemp and Payton and Malone and Stockton twice.
With Shaq leading the way Bryant defeated the Pacers led by Reggie Miller, a mediocre Philadelphia team led by Allen Iverson and the New Jersey Nets led by Jason Kidd and a bunch of pretenders.
Last season Bryant got his first ring as the undisputed best player in on his team when the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in an anticlimactic NBA Finals.
Point Jordan.
Point two: Jordan was a six-time NBA Finals MVP, Bryant has only won the award once.
There was never any doubt Jordan was the greatest player on his team when he won a championship, you cant say the same for Bryant.
A lot of Bryant supporters will argue that Jordan wouldn’t have six championships without Pippen.
A fair point, but I didn’t see Jordan running Pippen out of town like Bryant ran Shaq out of Los Angeles.
Point Jordan.
