Comparing Kobe Bryant's Savvy Game to Michael Jordan's Final Years with Bulls

Let's get this out of the way before we go any further: Michael Jordan is the greatest player ever to set foot in the NBA. Kobe Bryant will never equal him, much less surpass him, in the basketball pantheon.

The Black Mamba may finish his illustrious career with as many rings as MJ did, but his pursuit of His Airness will forever be "compromised" by the fact that he wasn't the best player on those first three championship teams with the Los Angeles Lakers (Shaquille O'Neal was), while Jordan was the head honcho on all six of his.

Of course, there's no shame in playing second fiddle at shooting guard to the man who elevated the Chicago Bulls from a never-was to one of the league's iconic franchises. The fact that Kobe's so much as ignited a conversation about who's "better," and about what it would take for him to stand toe to toe with MJ is testament enough to his legacy as one of a handful of players—if not the player—who's come to define the first post-MJ generation.

The Air and The Mamba

However, the Kobe-Jordan comparisons are about much more than just numbers. Above all else, it's Bryant's game, and the way that it's evolved, that so often has fans and experts alike lining up their career arcs and debating the merits of each involuntarily.

Both started out as high-flying wingmen with inconsistent jump shots, unmatched competitive streaks, insane work ethics and reckless disregards for their teammates.

But while Jordan's shenanigans created a glass ceiling of sorts over the Bulls' title hopes (until Phil Jackson came on the scene), Kobe's hardly kept the Lakers from reaching the top, in large part because Shaq was the focal point of the team.

In any case, Father Time (and the wear and tear that comes with him) took his toll on both of their bodies, robbing Kobe and MJ of a distinctive measure of the explosive athleticism that allowed them to dominate games without the aid of a reliable outside shot.

The Age of Refinement

Unlike most players who might grimly accept their fate and acknowledge that their time had come and gone, Kobe and Jordan worked tirelessly throughout their careers to adapt their respective games to their ever-shifting corporeal realities. As students of the game, both committed themselves to refining their jump shots (from beyond the arc and fading away), expanding their repertoires in the mid-range and on the low block, and adapting tricks of the trade to fool their opponents and mask their physical shortcomings.

Not that either one simply resigned himself to life on the court as a below-the-rim fogey. If that were the case, Michael would've never been able to pull off moves like this:

Or, Kobe, moves like this:

Kobe, in particular, has long had an affinity for picking up tips from other great players, especially big men. One year, he went to the All-Star Game and came back with Tim Duncan's "patented" bank shot.

Another year, he spent time in the offseason with Hakeem Olajuwon, learning how to play in the post from "The Dream," one of the most skilled players ever to grace the NBA.

Jordan might not have mastered the pivot with Hakeem's help, but he was unparalleled, at least in his time, at abusing smaller, quicker guards in the post.

Twinkle Toes

There's one current, at least on a technical level, that ties late-'90s Jordan and present-day Kobe together—footwork. No combination of pump fakes, leans and dipsy-doos can amount to much unless a player has the clean, agile feet to match.

Kobe and Jordan certainly did as their careers progressed. Both were (and are) known for using jab steps to create space and angles for getting to the basket when facing up their defenders. In the post, proper use of the pivot foot allowed each to spin off his opponent and either make a move to the rim or step back for a feathery fadeaway jumper.

Such proficiency allowed Jordan to dominate the league and win three titles in his early-to-mid-30's, and has helped Kobe earn two more rings post-Shaq, putting himself in position for another at the age of 33, 16 seasons into his Hall of Fame career.

Defer to Sender

But beyond footwork, beyond the physical, the twilight success that Kobe and Michael (have) enjoyed comes not without a crucial mental adjustment.

It's an understanding that championships are won not by spectacular individual efforts, but rather by balanced team-wide performances. And that this only rings truer as the ringleader grows older.

Michael knew that he couldn't do it all by himself, even if he believed with every fiber of his being that he was the Bulls' best option at all times. He understood the importance of getting others involved and trained himself to trust his teammates, even when they let him down.

Kobe has figured this out, too, but has seemingly struggled more mightily to come to grips with this reality. At times, he still seems to expect failure when deferring to his teammates. And when they do fail, it only validates his belief that he has to do it all by himself.

Granted, Bryant doesn't have the privilege of passing the ball out to dead-eye shooters like Steve Kerr and John Paxson, and isn't blessed with a sidekick like Scottie Pippen, who's just as capable of handling the ball and running the offense as he is.

But, unlike MJ, Kobe has two All-Star post players in Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum on whom he can lean, however inconsistently.

And when everything breaks down, Kobe, like MJ, is still capable of taking over a game, just as he did in Game 5 against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.

It wasn't quite enough to drag the Lakers to victory, but to put together such a spectacular performance at Kobe's age is, well, positively Jordanian.

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