For most basketball fans, Michael Jordan is the undisputed GOAT. We could go on and on about Jordan’s accomplishments in and out of the league to establish this case.
Many people believed that because Michael Jordan is regarded the actual GOAT, they would have to wait several decades to see a player with a comparable playing style to Jordan. Kobe Bryant was drafted into the NBA in 1996, so it didn’t take long.
Michael Jordan on advising Kobe Bryant
Throughout time, we have witnessed Kobe Bryant attempting to replicate the success of Michael Jordan. Jordan was a great inspiration to Kobe, and as a young athlete, he was eager to learn as much as he could from his role model. In his initial encounter with the legendary Bulls player during the 1997-98 season, Kobe took the opportunity to gain insights from Jordan.
“Oh yeah, he asked me one question when we were down, bent down at half court. He wanted to know how when I turn around on my jump shot, how to lock on defense and how to get the feel of the defense. I told him you should feel the defense with your legs. Once you feel the defense in your leg you more or less got to feel where the defense is and you can take advantage of that,” he said.
“Not at all. It’s just a matter of passing. I think that enhances his basketball skill and someone did that for me, and certainly I am not against giving him any hints about his game if he asks. I’m certainly not gonna come out and try to give him too much information to the kid. He has learned a lot, in short amount of time he has been in the league, and I believe he is gonna continue to learn,” Jordan on if he had problems sharing his trade secrets.
Many players may have been hesitant to reveal too much information to an emerging league superstar. Yet Michael Jordan didn’t mind assisting Kobe in learning and ultimately growing as a basketball player.
Who was better Jordan or Bryant?
Kobe Bryant thoroughly analyzed and learned from Michael Jordan to the best of his abilities. It was evident that his ultimate goal was to exceed Jordan’s accomplishments. Despite becoming an outstanding superstar himself, Kobe was unable to surpass Jordan’s legacy. Although Kobe won more games in the limited number of times they competed against each other, fans still do not consider him to be on the same level as Jordan.
If we compare their respective careers, Michael Jordan holds an advantage over the Lakers’ legendary player. Even when we compare the highest points of their careers, Jordan comes out on top. However, Kobe Bryant will always be considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and he undoubtedly had a playing style that closely resembled Jordan’s. Nevertheless, he did not manage to surpass Jordan’s all-time ranking.
