The never-ending debate among basketball fans today is the one between who is a better player between Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. Every fanbase has its arguments why one player is better than the other, and a lot of them sound valid and prove a point. On the other hand, former NBA player Stephen Jackson is one of those rare people that had the chance to play against all of them, and he also shared his thoughts on this heated discussion.
Jackson believes Jordan is the best and out of these three players but mostly because of one main factor, and that is his 6-0 finals record. Not many athletes in the world can say they never lost on the grandest stage, and as we all know, Jordan won six times without a single loss.
“As a player who played against all of them, I see different things in all three of these guys, but Kobe was the closest to Jordan. Very few people can use the word undefeated in championship games. Very few athletes in the world through sports of all time, since before I was born until now. Very few athletes can say they are undefeated in championship games.”
STEPHEN JACKSON, INSTAGRAM
Even though Jordan is the GOAT in his mind, Jackson recognizes the value of Kobe and LeBron and everything they accomplished in their NBA careers. However, the fact that most athletes don’t have such a dominant score on big stages as Jordan had, that somewhat justifies what Jackson said about the ranking between these three.
“Being undefeated means something; everybody can’t say that. Ninety-eight percent of the players who play sports can’t say that. 6-0, then Kobe, then Bron. Bron is the best all-around player we’ve ever seen, but he hasn’t passed Kobe and Jordan. That is my opinion.”
STEPHEN JACKSON, INSTAGRAM
Unlike Jordan and Bryant, who concluded their long and illustrious careers, LeBron still has a few productive years under his belt. He is still writing his unbelievable journey in the NBA, going for a quest to win his fourth NBA championship, and if he wins with the Lakers, he will become the only player in NBA history to have such a feat. Maybe then these rankings might be a bit different, and people view this debate differently because Kobe and Jordan already cemented their legacy as one of the all-time greats.
