Sometimes we as sports fans have this obsessive need to rank everything and allow that to get in the way of just enjoying a player for what he is. We can’t just sit back and enjoy what Kobe Bryant or LeBron James have done on the court, they must instantly be compared to the all-time greats and slotted in their appropriate spot. We come up with hypothetical situations for them to aid this ranking fetish.
Which brings us to the “who would win a one-on-one game between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant?” discussion.
The guy with the best seat for those two legends was Phil Jackson, so when he was on Fox Sports 1 recently he was asked who would win a one-on-one game between them — and he chose MJ.
Which is the only logical choice if you really saw them both.
That’s not a slight to Kobe Bryant and his legendary career, and if you see it that way really it speaks to your bias and emotional investments more than it does the matchup. Kobe will be remembered as one of the greatest wing players the game has ever seen, a guy of amazing drive and athleticism, not to mention fundamentals and footwork. That doesn’t make him Jordan.