Since Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to another title (Kobe's 5th overall) earlier this month, the debate on where he is compared to Michael Jordan historically. The problem with this obviously, is that Kobe is still playing and it is hard to compare careers when one player is not done yet. However, I believe I can strongly make the argument that Kobe is not on Jordan's level...yet. Let's break this down based on some very important factors: championships, awards, and stats.
First up, championships. Now it's obvious that Jordan has 6 rings and Kobe is now at 5, so Jordan still wins this argument. But people keep bringing up, "what if Kobe wins again next year or gets a couple more?" Well, I don't like to place full emphasis on greatness based on championships. While Bill Russell has the most (11) and he is one of the greatest players ever, without his teammates he would not have so many. Robert Horry has 7 rings, but that doesn't mean he was better than Jordan. On the opposite side, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley, and Reggie Miller all retired without rings, but that doesn't mean they aren't some of the greatest players to ever play. So while championships can be helpful, they don't tell the whole story.
Next, awards. I think the regular season MVP award is the most telling sign of a players greatness. The most MVP's (6) were awarded to Kareem Abdul Jabbar (for the 70-71 season he won under the name Lew Alcindor) Two people are tied with 5 MVP's: Bill Russell and, of course, Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant? He has two. Fewer than other great players like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Wilt Chamberlain.
I think Finals MVP is the next most telling award of a players greatness. and while Kobe has 5 championships, he only has 2 Finals MVP awards. His other 3 rings, the MVP went to a guy by the name of Shaquille O'Neal. Michael Jordan won the MVP for all 6 of his championships. So I don't think there is the same value between Kobe's 5 rings and Jordan's 6.
Finally, stats. I'm not going to go through much on this, mostly because I am running short on time today. Scoring leader for a season seems to be a pretty hyped stat each year. Guess what? Jordan has 10 scoring titles. Kobe? 2. Now as far as all time stats go, I don't feel like that can be tackled until Kobe is done playing too. Kobe will probably surpass Jordan on most all time stats because: 1) Kobe didn't go to college like Jordan 2) Kobe didn't retire for 2 years in his prime to play baseball.
So there you have it, even though I'm sure this blog won't get many readers, I needed to make the argument as I see fit. BTW, Kellogg's Fruity Snacks are awesome.
