One, Two, Three, Four: Kobe Gets Shaq Off His Back
Four championship rings in less than 10 years. One finals MVP. One league MVP. Multiple scoring titles. Like him or not, Kobe Bryant is now one of the most accomplished players in the history of the NBA.
With a victory in Orlando on Sunday night, Kobe etched his name into the pantheon of great NBA guards and possibly moved himself into the No. 2 spot on the list of all-time shooting guards.
Kobe's last championship in 2002-2003 seems like it might as well have been a lifetime ago. Since then, he has seen his life change in numerous ways.
Some of the ways his life has changed over the years include: a rape trial in Colorado, trade demands, etc. Kobe has been controversial, and so is what I am about to say.
Pound-for-pound, Kobe Bryant is just as talented as Michael Jordan was.
Yes, he has two fewer championships. I am aware of this, and believe me I am far from a Kobe Bryant fan. I would have loved to have seen the Magic take down the Lakers.
Kobe has not had the same benefits that Jordan has (explain this), and to be quite frank, the place where Kobe leaves you wanting more in comparison to his Airness is the leadership displayed.
Now, Jordan did have some advantages that Kobe does not have. First off, Jordan had Pippen, and while Kobe had Shaq (Shaq had Kobe?), Pippen was the prototypical sidekick. Humble and willing to do whatever it took for his team to win, while also absurdly talented, Pippen might have been the second best swingman of the 90s behind only Jordan.
This comes from a Pacers fan.
You can't say those things about Shaq. Humble? Yeah right, he was (and still is) anything but. Willing to do whatever it takes to win? Sure, as long as he is the center of attention. Even with his championship in Miami, Shaq was the center of attention. The media revolved around him, even as Wade carried all 300+ pounds of him to his fourth NBA title.
Now, surely some will cry, "Kobe wasn't humble either!" and they would be quite right in that assertion. However, we are kidding ourselves to try and say that Jordan was humble. Tongue wagging and with supreme confidence in himself, Jordan created Kobe and all the other players that tried to be like him.
In Jordan we are talking about a guy that quit after his third championship because he believed he could be a star playing baseball.
That's what made the Jordan-Pippen relationship so special. Pip was the ultimate sidekick, and never complained that he was in Jordan's shadow. Would Shaq have behaved the same way if he had been in Pippen's situation? Maybe if he had been put on the Bulls once Jordan's rep was already established, but if he had helped Jordan build his rep much like Pippen did? I doubt it.
Is Kobe Bryant equal to Michael Jordan? Maybe not. Talent-wise he is pound-for-pound MJ's equal. He does seem to lack the killer instinct that made Jordan special.
Make no mistake: Kobe can close a game, but it seems that more often than not he heats up at the right time rather than possessing an actual killer instinct. Kobe also seems to lack the ability to make his role players immediately fall in line—something Jordan was always capable of.
So, yes, maybe Kobe isn't Jordan, but he's pretty damn close, and we should enjoy it while we can. Not to mention there's that LeBron guy out in Cleveland.
It's a good time to be an NBA fan.
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