Tuesday, March 27, 2007
I speak, therefore it is done
As many of you know, Kobe Bryant has been incredible lately. Perhaps you've been sidetracked by thrilling 55-49 NCAA Tournament games where teams miss 55 open jumpers and it gets called "defense," but if you've been paying attention to the sporting world, you've seen Kobe has been lighting up scoreboards all over the NBA.
However, the love for everyone's favorite
The basis of her argument is three-fold:
1. Michael Jordan isn't necessarily a better person than Kobe, because MJ has done bad things too.
2. The league is better now than when Michael played.
3. Kobe is better as Michael.
Let's address these in order.
1. I don't know what this point has to do with anything, other than possibly making it easier for people to agree that Kobe is a better basketball player than Michael. Sorry, it still doesn't help me.
2. This. Is. Nuts. Completely insane. There are about four too many teams in the league right now, and the talent is completely watered down by 19 and 20-year old projects that teams have taken purely based on potential. When Michael played, guys like Tyrus Thomas were still in college, developing their skills and learning how to do things like move their feet and dribble the basketball without falling over. Now, the league is flooded with dozens and dozens of players who shouldn't be there. And Kobe has the opportunity to exploit and abuse them every single night. Michael wasn't able to do that nearly as frequently.
As for her point that athletes are faster and stronger now than when Michael played, it's all relative; Kobe is able to take advantage of the same training as everyone else.
3. This is something that afflicts sportswriters everywhere. They make a statement, and they then assume that since they have the power to put those words in print, it becomes true. But guess what? It doesn't work that way. You can't just say "Kobe is as good as Michael" and suddenly make it a fundamental truth. Also, Jemele loses all credibility when she says that Kobe is as good of a defender as Michael.
Let's look at some numbers. It'll be brief and painless, I promise.
Last season was Kobe's best year, at age 27. Per 40 minutes, he put up 34.6 points, 4.4 assists and 5.2 boards. Not bad, of course.
In Michael's age 27 season (not even his best year), he posted 40-minute rate stats of 34.0 points, 6.0 assists and 6.2 rebounds. He threw in THREE steals a game, to boot.
But here's where the glaring difference kicks in. Kobe shot 45 percent from the field. Michael (a guard, mind you) shot 54 percent from the field.
That's called efficiency, my friends. And that's why Kobe will never be as good as Michael. It doesn't matter how many points you score -- it's how they're scored. Even if you take away the clear advantages Jordan has in assists, rebounds and defense and boil it down to points, Kobe comes up short. If you let me stand out on an NBA floor and take enough shots, I could put up 50 points in a game. It might require me to take 115 shots, but I'd eventually get it done.
Now that I've used numbers and various kinds of logic to make my points, I will go ahead and make my decree: Kobe Bryant is not close to Michael Jordan. And he never will be.
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I agree for all the aforementioned reasons, but I would also like to point out that Jordan was better due to having played in those 55-49 games at UNC whereas Kobe was an 18 year old project.
I think I see the point you're trying to make.
Regardless of the circumstances, I'm just tired of people trying to find a player who is better than Jordan. First it was Olajuwon, then Grant Hill, the Penny Hardaway, then Vince Carter, then Kobe, then LeBron, and now Kobe again. None of them are even close. And I don't see why The Best Ever can't just be the best ever.
Excuse me, are you REFUTING that Penny Hardaway was better than Jordan? The facts:
1. Penny had Li'l Penny.
2. Penny was a better person than MJ
3. Penny persevered despite having injuries.
4. Penny was a better player.