Michael Jordan versus Kobe Bryant

In the culture and tradition of the basketball world, everybody knows Michael Jordan, Air Jordan or His Airness, and Kobe Bryant, Black Mamba. Greatness is what these two players define simply because of their work ethics. They are so determined to be the best of the bests, and without a doubt, one has been and one is now. Basketball is a major sport in this world, as years pass on and on more people are engaged to it so one could imagine how hard it is to be a good player, not mentioning the best of the players. These two athletes are insanely great and talented; they both have some similarities and differences to be shared upon. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are going to be analyzed for comparison and contrast based on their offensive skills, effectiveness in clutch moments, and leaderships.


Offensive skills play a big role in basketball because these skills are required for scoring. These skills are dunking, shooting, driving, passing, creating (fouls) and posting-up. Basketball is a sport in which the team that makes the most points win. Michael Jordan was a shooting guard who could also play the position of small forward (“Michael Jordan”). Offensively, Jordan was very skillful because he could score at will at a high percentage (“Michael Jordan”). He could drive easily to the basket and draw fouls; his 8772 free throw attempts are ninth all time(“Michael Jordan”). One of his offensive skills, post-up, had developed into an unstoppable force (“Michael Jordan”). Michael Jordan was said to have the greatest offensive skills of all time. He was able to take jump shots, do dunks and make lay-ups. As for jump shots, he could take both two points and three points; as for dunks, he could do in-your-face dunks, windmill dunks, reverse dunks; as for lay-ups, he could make acrobatic lay-ups to seal a game like 360 lay-ups, reverse lay-ups, kiss-the-glass lay-ups. As for Kobe Bryant’s offensive skills, there are similarities between him and Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant is a shooting guard who could also play the small forward position (“Kobe Bryant”). He has the single-game record for 12 three pointers made(“Kobe Bryant”). He also has a very high basketball IQ because he is using his speed and athleticism to score at the basket (“Kobe Bryant”). As for shooting three pointers, Kobe Bryant has an edge over Michael Jordan, but overall offensive skills, Michael Jordan is still the man, because he is not going to be the greatest player of all time ( which was stated in nba.com) for nothing. As for basketball IQ, they are both like geniuses on how they approach the games. As for speed and athleticism, Michael Jordan is still the favorite simply because he was more gifted than Kobe Bryant.


Both players are the team’s go-to guys. Michael Jordan for Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards , and Kobe Bryant for the Los Angeles Lakers. Michael Jordan was known to the world as an effective clutch performer (“Michael Jordan”). Victory was often concluded because of his plays (e.g., The Shot) and he could still perform in times of bad conditions (e.g., Flu Game) (“Michael Jordan”). Michael Jordan was very effective when it comes to being a clutch performer. During his professional career with the Bulls and the Wizards, when the game is on the line, the player to take the shot is always him. When the game is on the line, he would always demand for the ball and most of the time he would hit the game-winning shot. One game. Back in the 80’s Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was a very close call game, as time was ticking down, like always Michael Jordan demanded the ball , and hit the buzzer beater over Ehlo,game won, Chicago Bulls won. Michael Just had that bucket of confidence in him that’s why no matter what the situation is, he could face it calmly. Kobe Bryant is not different compared to Michael. Kobe Bryant is the most effective clutch performer today. All of the time he would demand the ball from his teammates and isolate against the opponents until the ball was out of his finger tips. For Kobe, winning is like everything and if a game is going to be crucial, he knows he has to step up for the team, hence he will take the decisive shot. A game against Dwyane Wade’s Miami Heat team, the time was draining but Kobe had the last say, hence he took a three-point shot fading away from the basket, and the shot went in-they won. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are those kind of players who have iron butterflies in their stomachs . They are so distinctive to other basketball players because it requires a lot of guts to take crucial shots, and these two guys just make it look so easy. Kobe Bryant is very clutch, but Michael Jordan is the clutch king of basketball.


Leadership. Michael Jordan had always been the leader of the Bulls and Wizards. He was like a coach and a court general on the floor. Michael Jordan is so at winning, he tends to get very serious during games, hence he would operate his team about plans and stuff. Back in the 90’s, there was a particular incident that had happened, this was almost a fight between Dennis Rodman and Shaquille O’neal. As a leader of the Bulls’ team, Michael Jordan vetoed his leadership by pulling Dennis away because he knew that the Bulls need Dennis, and pulling Dennis away was also a great idea because suspension is a big distraction to the team. This is how great of a leader Michael Jordan was. As for Kobe Bryant, don’t ever fool around if one plays for the Lakers especially during a game because he will definitely get down on problems that he sees; he scolds and smacks one’s head. Kobe glares at teammates when they miss a pass and stares when he never touches the ball during a possession whether or not the Lakers score (“Kobe Bryant leadership”). One blogger named Curt Schilling wrote that Kobe yelled and berated his teammates most of the time on court (“Kobe Bryant leadership”). He is in a joy mood when situations are on his side and casual mood when bad situations (“Kobe Bryant leadership”). Instead of helping the team, he is more of being contagious to the team for spreading idea like it is the team’s fault, not his (“Kobe Bryant leadership”). As for the leadership, the two great ones have different attitude on the court. The way they run their ball clubs are greatly different, Michael Jordan for being more of a nice and a holistic leader, and Kobe Bryant for being more of a leader that cares more on self interests-based on other’s opinions.


Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are not just anybody, they are the greatest basketball players of their eras. They are great because they have great offensive skills, very effective in clutch moments, and have distinctive kind of leaderships. Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time, that is why his style of playing, particularly offensive skills, is being copied by other players. Kobe Bryant is no different, because he idolizes Michael Jordan so much, moves of Michael Jordan are seen in Kobe’s plays.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_jordan#Player_profile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_bryant
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/29989-the-fallacy-of-kobe-bryants-leadership