Kobe Bryant might be best Laker, but he’s not close to Michael Jordan
Kobe Bryant just finished another stellar playoff performance landing him his 5th NBA Championship. He has possibly positioned himself atop the centerpiece of the mantle of Laker greats alongside Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bob MacAdoo, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor ,and Wilt Chamberlain.
- You are not, and never will be, Michael Jordan.
I know most of the “Lakeshow” nation might disagree, but I feel it is safe to say that no matter how many rings Kobe wins by the end of his career, there is no way the “Lakeshow” nation should be allowed to compare Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan. Period.
The main distinguishable fact when debating this is taking into consideration the starting center of any of Jordan’s championship teams, and compare them to Kobe’s.
Jordan won rings with centers: (1st Three Peat) Bill Cartwright, Will Purdue, Scott Williams, Stacey King, (2nd Three-Peat) Luc Longley, John Salley, Robert Parish (43 years old at the time), Brian Williams (aka Bison Dele), Bill Wennington, and Joe Kleine.
Kobe had Shaquille O’Neal to lean on during his first Three-Peat, and let’s just say Shaq is, at worst, extraordinarily better than any of those centers on their best day.
Kobe currently has a slew of 7-foot talent in Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum on his current roster. This compilation of 7-footers includes All Star and two big men who are far above average by NBA standards. Only once you start mentioning D.J. Mbenga are you close to entering the “Jordan Zone” of Championship centers.
So, Kobe might be the best Los Angeles Laker ever. I am sure you will get a plethora of arguments the spaning the different generations of Laker Nation arguing Magic vs. West vs. Kobe vs. whichever Laker that person grew up watching win NBA Championships.
No matter which Laker you select it becomes abundantly clear after reading the list of centers Michael Jordan played with during his championship reign that there never be any real argument that supports Kobe being better than Jordan, ever.
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Mon, Jun 21, 2010 by Adam Sedie
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