Arnold Toht
05-30-2015, 05:37 PM
Image Is Everything
Aside from the numbers, what made Michael Jordan so iconic is how cool he was. The buzzword people use to describe it is “influencer” but MJ’s legend stretches across three generations of NBA ballers at this point. In short, MJ created that ball player swag we recognize today on superstars like Kobe, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. Once he steps off the court, Tim Duncan might as well be a 6-foot-10 Steve Urkel. No diss to Tim, but we’d never see Duncan jump over a Aston Martin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIWeEFV59d4&feature=kp) (albeit in a fake commercial) the way Bryant did and think it was doable, let alone dope.
Kobe Did It HIs Way
After watching Duncan and the Spurs win their fifth title, it’s easy to praise him for taking half the money he could have made from the Spurs so they’d have enough money and cap space to sign good players. But if they didn’t win another ring, he’d just be out the over $10 Mill-plus he surely would’ve made. Kobe’s always analyzed his options, so taking $20 Million a year had to be what he thought was best.
Kobe’s Still More Skilled
On just a basketball level, there might not be a more complete player than Kobe Bryant. The dude is crazy skilled. He can play on the post, attack from the outside, be a playmaker and has been ferocious on defense his entire career. Tim is a master of what he does, but he’s limited in how he gets the job done if you compare the two.
Numbers Speak Louder Than Words
Five is where the two inter-generational stars even out, but that’s about it. Kobe Bryant’s fourth all-time in scoring. Duncan is 19th. Bryant has 16 All Star Game and Four ASG MVP’s for his career. Duncan’s got 14 ASG appearances and one ASG MVP. While Duncan does have two regular season MVP’s under his belt, he didn’t have to play second fiddle to another Hall of Famer like Bryant. Just a short while after the Lakers were “his,” Bryant gave us the second highest single game scoring output ever in his 81 point game. No telling what he might have done with more years as “that dude” in his prime, before it was title hunting time.
MJ Said Kobe’s The Greatest...
Player to play since he retired for good. Granted, the question is usually posed in regards to who’s better between Kobe and LeBron, but there was a reason for that. Before old man Duncan dethroned LeBron, there really were only two people worthy of being the heir to MJ’s throne. And when Mike names you the successor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsoPlaMRjUQ), well, it’s hard to argue that.
Aside from the numbers, what made Michael Jordan so iconic is how cool he was. The buzzword people use to describe it is “influencer” but MJ’s legend stretches across three generations of NBA ballers at this point. In short, MJ created that ball player swag we recognize today on superstars like Kobe, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. Once he steps off the court, Tim Duncan might as well be a 6-foot-10 Steve Urkel. No diss to Tim, but we’d never see Duncan jump over a Aston Martin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIWeEFV59d4&feature=kp) (albeit in a fake commercial) the way Bryant did and think it was doable, let alone dope.
Kobe Did It HIs Way
After watching Duncan and the Spurs win their fifth title, it’s easy to praise him for taking half the money he could have made from the Spurs so they’d have enough money and cap space to sign good players. But if they didn’t win another ring, he’d just be out the over $10 Mill-plus he surely would’ve made. Kobe’s always analyzed his options, so taking $20 Million a year had to be what he thought was best.
Kobe’s Still More Skilled
On just a basketball level, there might not be a more complete player than Kobe Bryant. The dude is crazy skilled. He can play on the post, attack from the outside, be a playmaker and has been ferocious on defense his entire career. Tim is a master of what he does, but he’s limited in how he gets the job done if you compare the two.
Numbers Speak Louder Than Words
Five is where the two inter-generational stars even out, but that’s about it. Kobe Bryant’s fourth all-time in scoring. Duncan is 19th. Bryant has 16 All Star Game and Four ASG MVP’s for his career. Duncan’s got 14 ASG appearances and one ASG MVP. While Duncan does have two regular season MVP’s under his belt, he didn’t have to play second fiddle to another Hall of Famer like Bryant. Just a short while after the Lakers were “his,” Bryant gave us the second highest single game scoring output ever in his 81 point game. No telling what he might have done with more years as “that dude” in his prime, before it was title hunting time.
MJ Said Kobe’s The Greatest...
Player to play since he retired for good. Granted, the question is usually posed in regards to who’s better between Kobe and LeBron, but there was a reason for that. Before old man Duncan dethroned LeBron, there really were only two people worthy of being the heir to MJ’s throne. And when Mike names you the successor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsoPlaMRjUQ), well, it’s hard to argue that.