I am so tired of these absurd comparisons. They are trying to compare arguably the greatest player to ever play the game against a great player who barely cracks the Top 50. Let's put this into perspective.
In Michael Jordan's first career, he shot above 50% from the field in almost every year he played. He also averaged above 30 ppg every year and had about 5 boards and 5 assists per game each year, with the exception of the year he averaged 32.5 ppg, 8 boards, and 8 assists. Jordan made the playoffs every year he played and almost single-handedly defeated a Boston Celtics team that would wipe the floor with ANY team today. Jordan also had a slew of sub-par college players as teammates, namely Charles Oakley, Orlando Woolridge, Dave Cozine, an old Bill Cartwright, etc. And he almost beat the Celtics with this motley crew!! Now put Kobe in Jordan's place. Kobe would not be able to lead this team anywhere. Kobe simply does not have that fire, determination, and TALENT that Jordan had and worked for. Yet, whenever Kobe hits a big shot, the MJ comparisons arise. The fact remains that Jordan was unstoppable! Jordan faced double and triple teams EVERY SINGLE NIGHT AND AGAINST EVERY SINGLE TEAM! Kobe RARELY sees more than single coverage due to the fact that he has this guy on his team named Shaquille O'Neal, who kinda demands a double team. How could you possibly compare single coverage Kobe against triple coverage MJ?
Plus, as I stated previously, MJ shot over 50% from the field almost every year, and this while averaging 26 shots per game. Kobe has not averaged higher than 45.1% from the field, and this with Shaq creating open opportunities for Kobe. And also, we need to take into account the defense. I feel that the defenses back in the 80's and 90's were MUCH better than today's defenses. The Pistons of today are probably the strongest defensive team in the league. And the fact remains that this team's defense is NOT EVEN CLOSE to the Bad Boy Pistons or the NY Knicks of the 90's.
I honestly think that beause Michael Jordan was so profitable for the NBA in the 80's and 90's, when he retired, Mr. David Stern came to the realization that without MJ, the league faced a potential problem in losing fan support. To combat this, he did what he had to do, which is start comparing every player he could with talent to MJ in order to spark interest. It started with Harold Miner. Then it went through Paul Pierce, Anfernee Hardaway, Grant Hill, and now Kobe. How could you compare these players to Michael Jordan, a man who transcended the game into what it is today??? Jordan changed the way the game was played, offensively and defensively. Teams actually had specific defenses for when they played the Bulls (aka The Jordan Rules). And with these defenses, HE STILL SCORED AT WILL! Jordan was a freak of nature, unguardable and unbeatable. After he won the first 3 titles with players with suspect talent (Pippen, Ho Grant, Cartwright, Paxson), he retired. He took 2 years off and then returned, better than ever. After realizing that he couldn't jump and dunk over defenders anymore, he developed one of the most devastating shots in the NBA, the fadeaway jumper. He perfected this shot so much, that it become nearly unblockable! After winning a few more scoring titles and 3 more titles with more players of suspect talent (Pippen, Rodman, Kukoc), he retired again. Before I continue, I just want to say that I keep referring to these players as "suspect" because without Jordan on their team, they did nothing. Anyway, Jordan then retired again and came back again, this time to a Washington Wizards team that was just atrocious. At the age of 40, he responded by taking this team, with players like Kwame Brown, Rip Hamilton, Christian Laettner, and Tyronn Lue, to the point of the playoffs before succumbing to injury (and might I add, Rip became a premier player in the league following his MJ days). He then retired for the last time, leaving a legacy that will probably NEVER be matched. Yet, because the NBA is so desperate for an MJ II, whenever Kobe Bryant, a man who hasn't averaged more than 30 ppg or shot hgher than 45% from the field in a season, hits a big shot, he is instantly compared to MJ.
Basically what I am trying to say is that the NBA analysts of today need to be just that. They need to stop having 24-hour memories and need to pull out old tapes and watch the way Jordan broke down teams. Only after watching the true legend that Jordan was could someone conclude that there is simply no comparison between MJ and ANY OTHER PLAYER in today's game (and probably of all time). We need to allow today's players to create names for themselves rather than trying to "Be Like Mike" and make Sportscenter every night. Because in 50 years from now, I don't want my grand-children saying, "Hey Grandpa, did you ever see Michael Jordan the Second play basketball"? Kill the comparisons with MJ and Kobe already and let them play ball!
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