Running 2014-15 NBA Thread

Please stop saying such silliness. It makes me feel sad for you.

And, btw, not only is the Carmelo comparison absurd, the same pretty much goes (albeit to a lesser extent) for MJ comparisons to your beloved Kobe. Jordan was clearly a far better overall player than both.

 

Jordan was NOT a far better player than Kobe.

 

Nothing like a semantics battle. Rage on with the hottest of takes, fellas!

 

Thank you. Stoney seems to think Jordan would have won 6 titles and 6 MVPs with a bunch of Gene Bankses, Quentin Brewers, and Orlando Woolridges.

And how cute that my comparisons make Stoney feel the sad. Poor baby. Want a wittle Gerber mushy peas?

I don't take comparisons lightly. The difference between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant -- all titles and MVPs aside -- is minimal at best.

 

Kobe Bryant. Hall of Famer?

 

Rape Hall of Fame, definitely. He'll pop plenty of collars in cell block 8.

 

How about Kobe Bryant, Top 10 of All-Time?

(The correct answer is yes.)

 

Without quibbling over the meaning of "far" I'll just say: YES, Jordan was CLEARLY better than Kobe, and by a good sized margin. As for reasons, they're more lengthy and detailed than I feel like getting fully into, but I might suggest looking at this recent 538 piece which broke it down well:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/michael-jordan-kobe-bryant/

In short, Jordan was simply better than Kobe in essentially EVERY aspect of the game except for three point shooting--Jordan was the more efficient player, the better defender, took care of the ball better, better at causing turnovers/getting steals (only the NBA's 2d all time steals leader), drove better, better rebounder and was a better passer (although neither were great passers). The ONLY skill Kobe can back up saying he did better than Jordan was 3 three point shooting, at virtually EVERYTHING else Jordan was better. And I dare say Jordan was also better at the intangibles.

I think some people are starting to forget just how dominant prime Jordan was on both sides of the court. At his apex the dude was simultaneously the best offensive AND defensive player in the world. For cripes sake, he was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the same season that he ran away with the scoring title averaging 35 ppg. No modern era player since has simultaneously dominated both the offensive and defensive ends to that extent (and, fwiw, the one to come closest is Lebron, not Kobe). Prime Kobe was tremendous, but never to the all around level of prime Jordan.

 

Yes, Jordan was better than Kobe. What Xan and I are saying is it's not that big a difference. Kobe is an all-timer. Lumping him in with Carmelo Frickin' Anthony is over-the-top ridiculous.

I guess I am quibbling over semantics, but "far better" describes Jordan in relation to Carmelo and, say, Dominique Wilkins. Not Kobe.

 

But is he elite?

 

Well, he's no Robert "Seven Rings" Horry.