Michael Jordan is believed to be the greatest basketball player of all time, and when he speaks everybody listens. He was the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, drafted by the Chicago Bulls. At 6-foot-6, Jordan was perfectly built for the shooting guard position in the NBA, and he showed in his rookie year what he's capable of as he averaged 28.2 points per game in his first season in the NBA.
His first championship ring came in the 1990/1991 season as he led the Chicago Bulls to a win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals. Jordan went on to win five more NBA titles, he won six championship rings, and he never lost an NBA Finals series.
His 6-0 record in the NBA Finals, and his individual stats make him the undisputed king of the NBA.
There have been many great players over the years that were compared to Michael Jordan, but none of them was really close to acomplish what "Air Jordan" did. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are often compared to Michael Jordan and are considered to be the closest comparisons to him in terms of winning and individual accomplishments.
Jordan picks Bryant over LeBron
Ryne Nelson of Slam Online reported on Wednesday that Michael Jordan apparently ranked Kobe Bryant ahead of LeBron James in terms of the all-time greats. It was during Jordan's Flight School camp in California when he was asked about the comparison between Bryant and James, and this is what he said: "Would I rank LeBron over Kobe in terms of the best of all time?
No!"
Jordan apparently gives Bryant the advantage over LeBron James because of his five championship rings as he went on to say, as quoted in Bleacher Report: "There's something about five (NBA titles) that beats three. Now he (LeBron) may be better than that, but Kobe won five championships."
Who would you pick?
It is true that Kobe won five NBA championships in his illustrious career, but does it really mean that he's better than LeBron James?
Individual stats are on LeBron's side, as he's better in almost every statistical category. It is really tough to compare the two of them since LeBron is still playing and is building his legacy but even so, his numbers are impressive.
James has already played 14 seasons in the NBA since entering the league in 2003, and he holds career averages of 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 7.0 assists while shooting 50% from the field.
Bryant on the other hand, played 20 seasons in the NBA and has career averages of 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 44% from the floor. Both of them are surely among the greatest basketball players of all time, and it is too bad the fans never got the opportunity to see them compete in the NBA Finals.