10. Scoring
Jordan scored 3000 points in a single season; Bryant hasn’t. During that season, Jordan not only averaged 37 points per game (compared to Bryant’s career-best 35 points), but he did so with two huge disadvantages. First, Jordan was playing in an era when hand-checking was permitted: defensive players were allowed to place their hands on a player at the perimeter. That means, on average, a player could put anywhere from 10-50 pounds of pressure on Jordan’s body, making it near impossible to get off a quick jump shot. Without hand-checking, Jordan likely could have gotten off many more shots during that season.
Second, Jordan managed 37 points per game while only shooting 66 three pointers the entire season. Bryant shot over 500 three pointers to reach that 35 points per game average — he relied on his jumper to get him points while Jordan had to earn them the hard way, attacking the hoop.
9. Rebounding
Jordan was a far superior rebounder. Bryant has averaged over six rebounds a game only three times in his career and never managed to average more than seven rebounds in a single game. Jordan, on the other hand, averaged more six rebounds per game nine times in his career which includes a season in which he averaged eight rebounds per game. Jordan was particularly good at getting boards at key times in the game and could dominate that area in spurts to win when it counted. Bryant has never yet been able to do this.
8. Steals
Jordan average more than 2.2 steals per game nine times in his career while Bryant has managed this only once. Jordan filled the passing lanes for the entire game and was always a threat; Bryant seems to pick and choose when he plays that kind of defense. Thus, Jordan has better steal stats.
7. Field Goal Percentage
Not once has Bryant averaged more than 50% from the field for a season. Jordan, though, made more than 50% of his shots 6 times in his career without shooting nearly as many three pointers. That means Jordan was far more efficient offensively.
6. Assists
Bryant is getting much better at setting up his teammates but only once has he averaged six assists a game. Jordan averaged more than six assists three times, including a season where he averaged eight assists per game. There are many teams in the NBA that don’t have a point guard who can give eight assists — Jordan, however, was able to average that many assists and score 32 points a game at the same time.
5. Blocks
Jordan averaged more than a block a game four times in his career. Bryant? Just once. Since both guys are near identical in their height and weight, it’s obvious that Jordan was more dedicated to playing defense by getting his hands up in the face of shooters, resulting in far more blocks.
4. Turnovers
In his entire career, Jordan only averaged more than three turnovers per game in a season five times. But this was in the first six years of his career, which means Jordan got better at protecting the ball as he got older. Bryant has averaged more than three turnovers seven times but is inconsistent about it: his worst season was in ‘04-’05, when he had more than four turnovers a game, something Jordan never did.
3. Off-Court Drama
Although Jordan recently had a rather messy divorce, during his playing career he never created off-court drama the way Bryant has. First, there’s Bryant’s very public extramarital affair in Denver, which was an embarrassment to the Lakers. Let’s not forget Bryant’s pre-season tirade two years ago, asking for a trade then changing his mind and staying.
The biggest off-court drama that Jordan ever had that greatly affected the team was the death of his father, something he had no control over. Luckily for the Lakers it has all worked out, but Bryant’s drama could have been avoided and needless stress is tough on a locker room.
2. Dunking and the Shoes
With Nike, Michael Jordan revolutionized the way we look at athletic shoes, which was in large part due to Jordan’s artistic performance in the dunk contest. Both Bryant and Jordan were dunk contest champions but the difference is Bryant’s performance was far from memorable. Posters of Jordan’s dunk contest are still sold today, whereas you would be hard-pressed to find a poster of Bryant’s dunks. Jordan’s flair created a sports culture (or maybe just cult) of sorts. Bryant, though, has not achieved nearly the kind of successful image Jordan did.
1. Hardware
Finally — and most importantly — it comes down to the hardware. Let’s run the numbers: Bryant has played 13 seasons, has one MVP award, four championships, one finals MVP and two scoring titles. Definitely impressive. But after 13 seasons, Jordan earned six championships, six NBA finals MVP awards, five regular season MVP awards, 1 defensive player of the year award and ten scoring titles. (Not to mention an NCAA championship and two Olympic Gold Medals; Bryant has only one Olympic gold medal.)
There’s no denying Kobe Bryant is one of the most dominant players of his era. Years of hard work and training have resulted in a terrific game, very fluid and graceful, and he’s hitting the peak of his abilities. His career’s not over yet so we’ll see what else he has in store. But until then, when it comes to Jordan, nobody compares.