So my boy Dub sends me a text the other day asking "What is Kobe's highest ppg for a season?" Seconds later I replied "35", then I immediately realized he was in the midst of an argument. I figured it had something to do with Jordan, but before assuming anything, I asked "You must be arguing with somebody," he replies "Yeah, I was saying that Kobe is a better scorer than Jordan." Here we go again, the debate that will never, ever, ever go away. Now let me just lay my cards out on the table, Kobe is my favorite player in the game, but he is no Mike.
Now my boy doesn't think he is a better player than Jordan either, but a better SCORER, that I have to agree with. Of course this is very debatable. Jordan had a year where he averaged 37 ppg, Kobe's highest as I mentioned earlier was 35. Mike's career average is 30.1 ppg, Kobe's is 25.1. Mike shot 50% for his career, Kobe's shoots around 45%. Now on the surface you would probably give the nod the Jordan, but stats don't tell the whole story. But for argument's sake, lets break down how these stats can be misleading. Kobe came in the league out of high school, was drafted to a ready made team and only averaged 15 mins a game his rookie season. Mike came to a team where he was going to get all the shots with the team was centered around him. Name me one other player on the Bulls Jordan's first year? I can just name one, and that's Orlando Woolridge and the only reason I know that is because I use to kill with him when he was on the Lakers on the "Lakers vs. Celtics" Genesis game.
Jordan's 50% shooting clip is very impressive, especially for a guard. But that doesn't necessarily translate to him being a better scorer. There are plenty of guards that shoot a better percentage than Kobe, Chris Paul and Tony Parker come to mind, but are they better scorers than Kobe? Hell Naw! My point is that you just can't point to the stats for your argument. Kobe can score from ANYWHERE on the floor. He has more range, is a better 3 point shooter, and the dude scored 81!
Kobe's Legendary 81 Point GameGo back and watch that game, find the shot chart, it's not just a player getting hot. He is scoring from every possible spot on the floor and most of the time he was hitting jumpers. You also need to look at the players that Jordan was going up against in comparison. The league was a lot less athletic in Jordan's era. Some of the scrubs on teams in the league today are leaps and bounds ahead athletically than some of the players that were guarding Jordan. Danny Ainge? Craig Ehlo? Please. Now granted, there were more physicals teams and better team defense back then, but individually, Jordan was just a flat out better athlete than anyone he was going up against.
With that being said, I think Kobe has more weapons in his arsenal. This is after studying Jordan more closely than any other player in the league has. He has something for every type of player or defense that is thrown at him. They also have an equal amount of 60 point games and Kobe has plenty of hoop left to break that tie. Jordan is the better overall player, that I wont debate, but Kobe gets the nod when it comes to scoring the ball. Oh, and did a mention Kobe scored 81! Sound off on the comments and put your spin on it.
HOLY F%*#ING SHIT BRO!!!!! Where do I start?!?!? Michael Jordan averaged over 30 pts multiple times (7 years in a row and 8 out of 9!) in his career and 30.1 for his career (including Wizards years!). Jordan revolutionized basketball and played in an era that was not very far AT ALL athletically from todays players...the major difference? Defense was WAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY better in Jordan's days because they didn't call any of the shit fouls they call today and there was NO hand check fouls!! No teams today play D like those Eastern conference squads back then and YOU KNOW THAT... Jordan played on a team with complementary parts where defenses could easily double and triple team him EVERY night and he still dropped 35 a night and shot over 50%....OVER 50%, with that kind of shot volume and defenses completely keyed on him at all times!!?!!?!! Don't even try to compare that to Chris PAul and Tony Parker...they are nowhere near Jordan's scoring average, shots per game or percentage of there team's extremely efficient and productive offenses. I think it is a travesty that anyone from our generation or older would say something like this....next thing your gonna tell me is Jay Z is sicker than Pac! Pleeeaase bro, you're gonna crown his ass because of 1 game??...I know your a Laker fan, but Jordan? The only thing Kobe is better than Jordan at is simpin...I have come a long way on my opinions on Kobe and I actually kinda like the dude at this point and no doubt he is raw as shit, but you REALLY need to go back and watch some Jordan GAMES, not highlights, but GAMES so you can refresh the data banks....I mean it when I say that it saddens me to hear people whose opinions I respect say shit like this...I can understand it coming from my little brother but not our generation...Laker fan or not....Higher scorer....higher percentage...against BETTER defenses....double & triple teamed...6 chips....Jesus f#%*ing Christ Dub and Mansa...
ReplyDeleteOh yeah...One more thing, let's talk about the way they score...the only think Kobe is better than Jordan at is shooting 3's and he is BARELY better...Jordan was MORE ATHLETIC...Jordan got to the rim at will and is the best finisher in the history of the game BY FAR...they are about even at getting to the line and shooting free throws but Kobe plays in an era where twice as many fouls are called...Jordan's mid range game was better and his post up game was WAAAAAAYYYYY better than Kobe's...Jordan's post up fade away move was absolutely ridiculous, downright unfair! His pull up jumper? Please dude....pleeeeeeeaaaaaase
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