Derrick Rose vs. Kobe Bryant: Who Can Top Michael Jordan?

Growing up as a basketball fan in the Michael Jordan era makes me inclined to believe he is the greatest player of all time. At this point, few would disagree. 

For years I’ve debated about whether or not Kobe Bryant would be the player to top Jordan and become the greatest of all time.

While this perhaps deserves its own article, I believe Kobe has been inhibited far too greatly to ever conclusively surpass Jordan. Even if Kobe ends up with seven rings (one more than Jordan) critics will always claim that he was “just a sidekick” during the Lakers' three-peat with Shaquille O'Neal. Though I’m not completely convinced of this argument’s merit, the fact remains that Michael Jordan dominates Kobe Bryant in many other statistical categories as well as accolades.

We act like LeBron James winning two MVPs is a big deal. Michael Jordan won five.  As much as I love Kobe Bryant, he needs to have more than five rings, two Finals MVPs and one regular-season MVP to compete with Jordan. It’s as simple as that. If you want to be the best, your accomplishments have to be mind-boggling. And that is the only way to describe Jordan’s resume.

In many ways O'Neal, while creating his own legend, perhaps prevented Kobe from ever truly surpassing Jordan. That might seem unfair, but the truth is if you want to be better than Jordan, you will need every season of your career to do it. Kobe had to spend his first eight seasons as second banana. That’s half an NBA career without being the alpha dog. As skilled as Kobe is, we may never be able to definitively argue that he accomplished more than Jordan. He may be No. 2 all time, but that might be his ceiling. 

There is a player, however, who is one of the few ideal candidates for taking on Jordan’s legend. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that he will also make his name with the Chicago Bulls.

That’s right, NBA fans, if you’re looking for the player most likely to match Jordan, look no further than Derrick Rose.

Now, I am in no way saying Derrick Rose is as good as Michael Jordan. Yet. But where was Jordan at 22? Rehabbing a broken foot. Where was Rose? Winning his first MVP award and leading his team to a 62-win season. 

Even still, in Jordan’s third season his statistics were off the charts. He was averaging 37.1 points, 4.6 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 1.5 blocks (NBA.com). That was in his second full season in the NBA. Those lines don’t appear on many other players’ lists for a single game, let alone an entire season. Rose doesn’t even come close in his third year in the league.

So, what does Mr. Rose have going for him that makes me believe he has a chance at matching Jordan?

First of all, he has been and always will be the alpha dog on his team. I can’t even begin to explain how important that is for an incoming star. When you build a team around a young prospect and he actually pans out, you set the foundations for the makings of a superstar from the beginning.

Rose also has the management and coaching he needs to win. As much as I love Doug Collins, Jordan needed Phil Jackson to be his coach and had to wait until his sixth season before that would become a reality. I’m not sure if Tom Thibodeau is the next Phil Jackson, but I have no reason to doubt his ability to coach a team to a championship. And that’s all Derrick Rose can ask of him.

And so, Mr. Rose is 22, entering his fourth season as a pro and already has a team built to win a championship, a regular-season MVP award and total control over the leadership of the team. 

There’s no question that he has a very, very long way to go before he can reach Michael Jordan-like levels, but if anyone is on the right track it’s Derrick Rose.

It’s likely Rose will not surpass Jordan, simply because the bar is astronomically high, but you can’t deny he has better odds than anyone, even more so than accomplished players such as Kobe Bryant. It’s not because of what he has already done, but because of what he could do with the opportunity he has been lucky enough to be given.

It’s now up to Rose to see if he has what it takes to rise to the challenge.