Kobe Bryant

And when asked if he’d remind LeBron of the championship count he replied, “Not yet. I will. I will.’

nbaoffseason:

doubleclutch:

Isn’t if funny how Kobe is still trying to be “Like Mike”?

Kobe Bryant, forever in Jordan’s shadow.

So I guess every player who has been in the Olympics with a goatee is trying to be like MJ now. Definitely. (zzzz)

nbaoffseason:

Congratulations to Kobe Bryant, the all-time leading scorer in All-Star game history.

With a breakaway dunk late in the third quarter, Kobe got his 264th point in collective all-star games, passing Michael Jordan’s all-time record of 262.

siphotos:

Many sports fans have compared Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan, but how similar are their games? Very, as the gallery below reveals. The two have almost identical styles on the court. Check it out for yourself. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images; AP) 

GALLERY: Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan

gotemcoach:

@gotem_coach

Life is a circle.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, hmm), LeBron may not even play tonight.

atlced:

Michael Jordan thinks only Kobe Bryant deserves comparisons

Ever since Michael Jordan retired — all three times, really — the NBA has searched for the heir to his throne. Many players have popped up as pretenders to the throne, from Harold Miner to Jerry Stackhouse to Vince Carter. In recent years, people have stopped trying to find a clone and just searched for a similarly dominant great player. If you ever wondered why LeBron James is seen as such a failure, a lot of it has to do with his inability to meet the example set by Jordan.

There are many great players in the NBA these days, most of whom have never been directly compared to Jordan. Nevertheless, His Airness says only one player comes close enough to his greatness to merit the comparison. Not surprisingly, that player is Kobe Bryant. Here’s what Roland Lazenby, a great writer currently working on a Jordan book, tweeted on Sunday (via PBT): 

Kobe’s ultimate competition is MJ. That’s why MJ watches him. MJ made people think what he was doing wasn’t human. Ditto the Kobester.

I never said Kobe was better than MJ. MJ just told me Kobe’s the only one to have done the work, to deserve comparison.

Congratulations, Kobe: Your life’s work has meant something. All that time spent aping Jordan’s movements and skills has paid off. He acknowledged you. You made it.

Of course, if the notoriously petty Jordan was going to mention anyone, it makes that he’d single out Kobe, and not just because he’d consider the mimicry flattering. Bryant really does work harder than everyone else, and he’s been good for long enough (with no signs of slowing down) that he may eventually top Jordan’s longevity. They’re similarly insane competitors.

The “Next Jordan” idea was always a silly one, but Bryant is certainly the player most like Jordan in all aspects of his game — even if he eventually becomes something less than the greatest player of the post-MJ era, which I’m sure many of you will argue in the comments. That’s an accomplishment in itself. Even coming close to the top means something.

Via

materialkillers:

Video: NBA 2K12 “Jordan Invitation” - MJ is swaggin’ hard in this promo with his rings.  2K wants fans to submit videos making a case for the best team of all time.  C’mon son.  Like MJ said, ‘96 Bulls with 72 wins… how can any team compete with that?

Since this is a Lakers blog, I’m putting in my vote for the ‘87 Lakers squad. [65-17]

Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Scott, A.C. Green, Rambis …

Magic won the MVP, Michael Cooper was Defensive Player of the Year

Beat the Celtics in the Finals (Magic’s sky hook in Game 4 was memorable).

gotemcoach:

From Kevin Ding’s column, “Jackson’s last chapter nearing completion.”

(Phil) Jackson told the story of arranging a first meaningful meeting between Bryant and Michael Jordan in the 2000-01 season, which was filled with Kobe-driven friction after the first championship the previous season. Jackson’s goal was for the learned Jordan to get the eager Bryant “to understand he didn’t have to stray outside the offense” and the Zen idea to “wait till the game presents itself.”

Jackson said Bryant’s first comment to Jordan, however, was: “I can take you one-on-one.”

Follow Got ‘Em Coach

Who's better: Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan

LA Times does a pretty interesting comparison of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. More interesting than say, articles from Henry Abbott and Bill Simmons if only for how comprehensive it is.

It shows just how great Jordan was — the guy average 30 ppg, incredible. What’s also pretty compelling is how much better Kobe starts to come out after their respective 10th seasons, a fact you can attribute to Kobe playing with Shaq for a bulk of his career.

nbaoffseason:

Vader & Skywalker