Phil Jackson: MJ was better than KOBE Bryant

[The Tase]

Phil Jackson always has been hesitant to compare Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Until now.

In his new book, co-written with Hugh Delehanty and entitled "Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success," Jackson breaks down what separated Jordan from Bryant, the biggest stars and personalities that he coached during his Hall of Fame career.

The Los Angeles Times, which received an advance copy of the 339-page book, provided some details of Jackson's Jordan and Bryant comparison.

In terms of advantages, the biggest that Jordan had over Bryant was leadership early in his career, according to Jackson.

"One of the biggest differences between the two stars from my perspective was Michael's superior skills as a leader," Jackson writes. "Though at times he could be hard on his teammates, Michael was masterful at controlling the emotional climate of the team with the power of his presence. Kobe had a long way to go before he could make that claim. He talked a good game, but he'd yet to experience the cold truth of leadership in his bones, as Michael had in his bones."

Jackson, who coached Jordan to six titles with the Chicago Bulls and Bryant to five with the Los Angeles Lakers, also compared the players' defensive skills and accuracy. Once again, Jackson sided with Jordan.

"No question, Michael was a tougher, more intimidating defender," Jackson writes. "He could break through virtually any screen and shut down almost any player with his intense, laser-focused style of defense."

Saying Bryant learned some of Jordan's defensive tricks, Jackson added: "In general, Kobe tends to rely more heavily on his flexibility and craftiness, but he takes a lot of gambles on defense and sometimes pays the price."

On offense, Jackson said: "Jordan was also more naturally inclined to let the game come to him and not overplay his hand, whereas Kobe tends to force the action, especially when the game isn't going his way. When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns. Michael, on the other hand, would shift his attention to defense or passing or setting screens to help the team win the game."

Jackson also touched on the difference in personalities.

"Michael was more charismatic and gregarious than Kobe," Jackson writes. "He loved hanging out with his teammates and security guards, playing cards, smoking cigars, and joking around.

"Kobe is different. He was reserved as a teenager, in part because he was younger than the other players and hadn't developed strong social skills in college. When Kobe first joined the Lakers, he avoided fraternizing with his teammates. But his inclination to keep to himself shifted as he grew older. Increasingly, Kobe put more energy into getting to know the other players, especially when the team was on the road."

Jackson also revealed that the ***ual assault charges levied against Bryant in 2003 temporarily clouded his outlook of the Lakers star. The situation "cracked open an old wound" because Jackson's daughter Brooke had been ***ually assaulted by an athlete in college.

"The Kobe incident triggered all my unprocessed anger and tainted my perception of him. ... It distorted my view of Kobe throughout the 2003-04 season," Jackson writes. "No matter what I did to extinguish it, the anger kept smoldering in the background."

Bryant responded on Twitter Friday.

"The comparisons are #apples2oranges," the tweet said. "Wonder what the perception would be if M played wit @shaq instead #differentroles #differentcareerpaths."

Jackson took to Twitter himself saying the whole thing wasn't worth getting up in arms about.

"Listen friends of bball; don't get hung up on words," Jackson tweeted. "I was most fortunate to have the chance to coach two of the greatest gds. EVER MJ/Kobe"

The Times also revealed other tidbits from the book, which is set to be released Tuesday.

• Jackson's interest in Zen picked up after he met a practicing Buddhist, who was a construction worker and helped build his house in the 1970s.

• Jackson's words to Jordan after he showed up in the coach's office in 1995 hoping to return to basketball after a failed attempt at a baseball career: "Well, I think we've got a uniform here that might fit you."

• Jackson considers the Lakers' Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals the most satisfying of his career.

[ИATAS]

Like saying the sky is blue.

Only delusional faker fans would say otherwise.

[F l i c k e r]

Larry Bird > Michael Jordan

[-jose-]

Phil Jackson is a very intelligent man

[-MAKAVELLI-]

phil tryin to sell books again


jordan was overrated

[Left Hook Tua]

Like saying the sky is blue.

Only delusional faker fans would say otherwise.

list all the things jordan was way better than kobe at.

list them and be specific.

i don't care if you think jordan was better but make your case.

[The Tase]

phil tryin to sell books again


jordan was overrated

list all the things jordan was way better than kobe at.

list them and be specific.

i don't care if you think jordan was better but make your case.

i was specifically waiting for these posts.

[iLovesoccermoms]

From Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, who got an advance look at "Eleven Rings" and is sharing the wealth:


"Michael was more charismatic and gregarious than Kobe. He loved hanging out with his teammates and security guards, playing cards, smoking cigars, and joking around," Jackson said [...]

"Kobe is different. He was reserved as a teenager, in part because he was younger than the other players and hadn't developed strong social skills in college. When Kobe first joined the Lakers, he avoided fraternizing with his teammates. But his inclination to keep to himself shifted as he grew older. Increasingly, Kobe put more energy into getting to know the other players, especially when the team was on the road." [...]

"Jordan was also more naturally inclined to let the game come to him and not overplay his hand, whereas Kobe tends to force the action, especially when the game isn't going his way. When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns. Michael, on the other hand, would shift his attention to defense or passing or setting screens to help the team win the game."

Jackson also gives M.J. the nod as the "tougher, more intimidating defender," whereas Bryant would "rely more heavily on his flexibility and craftiness," along with (occasionally ill-timed) gambles, on the defensive end.

The coach's evaluations all seem pretty evident and reasonable, emphasizing the slight but importance differences in applied physicality between the two 6-foot-6, 200-pound guards. It's interesting to note, though, that Jackson's analysis of the differences in teammate interaction don't totally dovetail with the experience expressed by trainer Tim Grover, who famously worked with both stars, in his recent book, "Relentless."

Here's how Grover describes it:


A lot of gifted people will lower their skills to close the gap between themselves and those around them, so others can feel more confident, involved, and relatively competitive. I've seen Kobe do that briefly when he has to, as a way to bring his teammates into the action and keep them engaged. It can work well depending on the other players, and as soon as Kobe sees his teammates stepping up, he'll revert to his natural game. It's a conscious decision to make the other guys feel as if they were one team, not one superstar surrounded by a second-rate supporting cast.

Michael went the other way and came right out and said it: that's my supporting cast.
His message was clear and unrelenting: Hey, I'm not bringing my game down so you can look better; you bring your game up so you can look better. He refused to put his own game in the backseat just to give other guys more action, unless you proved to him you could handle the responsibility.

Grover does note, however, that Jordan "never showed frustration on the court" and "always stayed positive, always had fun out there," only flipping his lid on underperforming teammates after the final buzzer. He also lends credence to the distance Bryant at times places between himself and his teammates, noting that Kobe "shoots along before the game, never on the same basket as the other guys," and that his teammates often stay away and "would never encroach on his space" out of "respect."

All told, we're talking about such small degrees of differentiation — on the court, off the court, in the locker room — that while the Zen Master's breakdown does seem to favor Jordan overall, it in no way denigrates Bryant's status as one of the greatest players of all time and arguably the second-greatest shooting guard in NBA history.

It does, however, appear to entrench Jordan as the greatest of all time in the mind of the man who'd know best. That measurement will likely sound about right to most of us, and probably will only fuel Bryant's fire as he rehabilitates from Achilles surgery in pursuit of a return to the court, a Jordan-equalling sixth ring and more buckets to chase down M.J. on the all-time scoring list.

That urge to measure up and prove himself was apparent in Bryant even in his early years, according to Jackson, who also relates a great story about a face-to-face meeting between Kobe and M.J. during Jackson's first year in L.A.:


"Kobe was hell-bent on surpassing Jordan as the greatest player in the game. His obsession with Michael was striking," Jackson said. "When we played in Chicago that season, I orchestrated a meeting between the two stars, thinking that Michael might help shift Kobe's attitude toward selfless teamwork. After they shook hands, the first words out of Kobe's mouth were, 'You know I can kick your *** one on one.'"

damn this is a great read..

[Left Hook Tua]

phil tryin to sell books again


jordan was overrated

i don't get the leadership thing.

when he got jordan, jordan had been in the league twice as long, already a superstar and everyone knew the team was his.

kobe was just 21, barely 3 years pro, only 1 as starter and his team was loaded with vets, former stars and a superstar who saw kobe as a kid.

way different to compare.

[-MAKAVELLI-]

list all the things jordan was way better than kobe at.

list them and be specific.

i don't care if you think jordan was better but make your case.

he was better at making commercials and better at getting calls from the refs...if you looked at jordan the wrong way, it was 2 FTs