It does, however, appear to entrench Jordan as the greatest of all time in the mind of the man who'd know best. He also lends credence to the distance Bryant at times places between himself and his teammates, noting that Kobe "shoots along before the game, never on the same basket as the other guys," and that his teammates often stay away and "would never encroach on his space" out of "respect."Īll told, we're talking about such small degrees of differentiation - on the court, off the court, in the locker room - that while the Zen Master's breakdown does seem to favor Jordan overall, it in no way denigrates Bryant's status as one of the greatest players of all time and arguably the second-greatest shooting guard in NBA history. Grover does note, however, that Jordan "never showed frustration on the court" and "always stayed positive, always had fun out there," only flipping his lid on underperforming teammates after the final buzzer. He refused to put his own game in the backseat just to give other guys more action, unless you proved to him you could handle the responsibility. His message was clear and unrelenting: Hey, I'm not bringing my game down so you can look better you bring your game up so you can look better. Michael went the other way and came right out and said it: that's my supporting cast. It's a conscious decision to make the other guys feel as if they were one team, not one superstar surrounded by a second-rate supporting cast. It can work well depending on the other players, and as soon as Kobe sees his teammates stepping up, he'll revert to his natural game. I've seen Kobe do that briefly when he has to, as a way to bring his teammates into the action and keep them engaged. It's interesting to note, though, that Jackson's analysis of the differences in teammate interaction don't totally dovetail with the experience expressed by trainer Tim Grover, who famously worked with both stars, in his recent book, "Relentless."Ī lot of gifted people will lower their skills to close the gap between themselves and those around them, so others can feel more confident, involved, and relatively competitive. The coach's evaluations all seem pretty evident and reasonable, emphasizing the slight but importance differences in applied physicality between the two 6-foot-6, 200-pound guards. the nod as the "tougher, more intimidating defender," whereas Bryant would "rely more heavily on his flexibility and craftiness," along with (occasionally ill-timed) gambles, on the defensive end. Michael, on the other hand, would shift his attention to defense or passing or setting screens to help the team win the game." When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns. "Jordan was also more naturally inclined to let the game come to him and not overplay his hand, whereas Kobe tends to force the action, especially when the game isn't going his way. Increasingly, Kobe put more energy into getting to know the other players, especially when the team was on the road." But his inclination to keep to himself shifted as he grew older. When Kobe first joined the Lakers, he avoided fraternizing with his teammates. He was reserved as a teenager, in part because he was younger than the other players and hadn't developed strong social skills in college. He loved hanging out with his teammates and security guards, playing cards, smoking cigars, and joking around," Jackson said So."Michael was more charismatic and gregarious than Kobe. Kobe had the higher point total, while MJ had the better rebounding numbers, etc. MJ had his career high in rebounds as well with those 18 boards grabbed.Įach option, whether it is Kobe or MJ, have defensible opinions that are understandable. 621 percent from the field making 23-37 field goal attempts. When he scored 69 points, it was an overtime thriller against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Here are Michael's stats in his high-scoring game: 69 points, 18 rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Kobe was also shooting 90 percent from the charity line. The Lakers were down by double digits starting the second quarter before Kobe started shooting lights out. Notable: He shot a blistering 28-46 from the field, making over 50 percent of his shots from behind the arc to the rim. Here are Kobe's stats in the high-scoring game: 81 points, six rebounds, two assists, three steals, and one block.
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