Michael Jordan: "I would beat Kobe in my prime"

Well, according to the man himself, he said that he would be able to beat Kobe in a game of one on one if both were in their primes. I'm sure there have been many times this has been brought up but since Michael apparantly said it; I thought it was fitting to bring this debate back out.

Here's one opinion: Click Here

Firstly, which MJ is 'MJ in his prime.' Are we talking about the Jordan just before he retired the first time (Which is who I see it as)... would anyone consider the 'second time round MJ' as in his prime?

Secondly, my opinion would be that Kobe has a better shot than MJ. MJ may have been the better defender and more athletic. It's hard to judge that. At the end of the day though, I do have to believe/admit that MJ was a mentally stronger competitor so if it all came down to both guys being equally or nearly as equally talented as eachother, perhaps MJ's will and desire would help put him on a level higher than Kobe's.

What do you guys think?

mj is definitely one of the best players ever!!! there is nooo way he would lose to kobe...

Well considering that Kobe Bryant is not even the second best shooting guard of all time I don't see how this is even a relevant discussion.

think about this. mj led the bulls to 6 nba championships. kobe only did 3, and was a 10 time all star. Jordan was a 14 time all-star.

Is Kobe dead or something?

Jordan would beat Kobe. He's a better one on one defender, a better scorer with contact, has a quicker first travel..err step, and would yam all over Kobe.

Well, Michael Jordan didn't too badly going 1-on-5 at times in his career so I'd say he's up to the challenge of a 1-on-1 matchup. Both are too good offensively to shut each other down into a stalemate and athletic enough to contend with one another, so I'll go with mental toughness and say that MJ pulls out the win with the edge in that area. Having said that, if they played a series of games I'd pick MJ to win the most but certainly not all of them.

Who cares about one-on-one? Equal teams. Jordan's would beat Kobe's endlessly.

Secondly, my opinion would be that Kobe has a better shot than MJ. MJ may have been the better defender and more athletic. It's hard to judge that. At the end of the day though, I do have to believe/admit that MJ was a mentally stronger competitor so if it all came down to both guys being equally or nearly as equally talented as eachother, perhaps MJ's will and desire would help put him on a level higher than Kobe's.

Why do you think Kobe has a better shot? And what makes you think Jordan was more athletic? That has to be one of the vaguest comparisons between the two I've ever heard (or read:crazy:)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqlBUj9bFC4[/youtube]

Jordan all the way

Kobe is a better offensive player in my opinion. If he gets on a roll, there's no possible way that Jordan or anyone in the world can stop him. But Michael's defense and mental games give him the overall advantage.

Kobe can be contained, look at what Boston and even Detroit in 2004 did to him. And why exactly do you think Kobe was a better offensive player then Jordan? Remeber Jordan averaged 37 ppg one season and also over 40 ppg in the finals!

In Jordan's time there were no defensive 3 second rule, so big man was always waiting if he drives to the hoop. Also handcheking was allowed. But still even on superior defences he was unstoppable.

Kobe is a better offensive player in my opinion. If he gets on a roll, there's no possible way that Jordan or anyone in the world can stop him. But Michael's defense and mental games give him the overall advantage.

I disagree. Kobe might seem to have a more "polished" offensive game shooting wise. Meaning his shot looks more smooth and all that, but Jordan got to the rim and shot pretty well too.

Jordan was better offensively and defensively. Bryant is good, Jordan is great. Big difference.

Let me put it like this, what happened in the Finals against Boston...wouldn't have happened to Jordan. Everyone was waiting for Bryant to explode, everyone felt he was going to sooner or later...but it never happened. With Jordan it was the same, you knew he was going to explode, you knew he would carry the team...difference is that he would've actually done it. I mean this guy played against the Bad Boys of Detroit. So if Boston did that to Kobe...

Jordan is the greatest player of all time. Kobe is really good, but not even second or third best ever. So no contest.

Kobe is a better offensive player in my opinion. If he gets on a roll, there's no possible way that Jordan or anyone in the world can stop him. But Michael's defense and mental games give him the overall advantage.

I disagree. Kobe might seem to have a more "polished" offensive game shooting wise. Meaning his shot looks more smooth and all that, but Jordan got to the rim and shot pretty well too.

Jordan was better offensively and defensively. Bryant is good, Jordan is great. Big difference.

Let me put it like this, what happened in the Finals against Boston...wouldn't have happened to Jordan. Everyone was waiting for Bryant to explode, everyone felt he was going to sooner or later...but it never happened. With Jordan it was the same, you knew he was going to explode, you knew he would carry the team...difference is that he would've actually done it. I mean this guy played against the Bad Boys of Detroit. So if Boston did that to Kobe...

Jordan is the greatest player of all time. Kobe is really good, but not even second or third best ever. So no contest.

Completely agree, what make Jordan the best, which means better than Kobe as well, is that he would always win the games people knew he was gonna win. At the end of tight games, you know Jordan is gonna take the shot, you put 3 defenders on him be cause you know he'll take. He takes it, and he still manages to put it in. Everytime the games were focused on him, and that he was the man to stop, he still managed to step his game up. Kobe does not have this ability, and this year's finals ar a proof of that.

Jordan will definitely “school” Kobe Bryant if they went at it in their prime. MJ will eat Kobe’s heart out!

Jordan dominated kids WITHOUT a strong three point shooting game. Kobe still relies on threes for a good portion of his baskets, but Jordan's scoring average dominates Kobe's. That says something.

In Jordan's time there were no defensive 3 second rule,

You seem to be confusing the 1990s with the 1950s.

In Jordan's time there were no defensive 3 second rule,

You seem to be confusing the 1990s with the 1950s.

In 2001-2002 season NBA implemented defensive 3 sec rule. And watch some footage from 90's, centers were 'camping' the key teritory in defence.

"The NBA instituted a set of major rules changes for this season, eliminating all the old illegal-defense rules in favor of a defensive 3-second violation, lessening the time allowed to bring the ball upcourt from 10 seconds to 8 seconds and eliminating many of the so-called ticky-tack fouls that were slowing down the game."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basket ... eepers_ap/

In 2002, the NBA allowed a form of zone defense and eliminated the old illegal defense rule, thus the implimentation of the current defensive three second rule inside the paint.

Before that illegal defense had long been the NBA rule and had been strengthened in 1966 with the previous defensive three second rule.

As far the poll goes...


Jordan 30
Kobe 0




nice

It's Kobe we're talking about, not Ginobili. Then it's be 30-0 Manu!!11one!! You know, cuz he's the best thing to ever happen to Argentina. And men's hairline.

Kobe is a better offensive player in my opinion. If he gets on a roll, there's no possible way that Jordan or anyone in the world can stop him. But Michael's defense and mental games give him the overall advantage.

worst post ever. in what world do you live where kobe is the better offensive player?


one on one, 5 on 5 whatever, jordan is the better player end of story

Yes, Jordan would win, but it'd be close.
The game is one on one. Nobody has to pass. No pressure to throw up wild shots to come back from twenty points down. I don't care how many games each of them won and lost, if the question is who would win in a game of 1 v 1, I want to know how good they are individually.
Kobe is extremely competitive, but I have yet to see him play to kill, like Jordan. If he ever had the incentive to play Jordan in his prime with the use of some space age time machine, if he really wanted to kill, not beat, then I'd say the game would be pretty close. Joe Dumars has already shown that MJ can be fazed.
Still, I would put my money on MJ. God built him to play basketball. With those hands and that freakish athleticism and vertical leap that he attributed to "riding my bike sometimes", it'd be hard to stop MJ with a machete.

I don't understand what Jackal is talkin about