Despite many fans and basketball aficionados including Kobe Bryant’s name in the GOAT conversation, there are certain facts about his career that somewhat undermine his claim to the title. He has often been touted as the carbon copy of Michael Jordan. However, Kobe didn’t always succeed in emulating what Jordan achieved in his career. In his 20 years in the league, the Mamba won only one league MVP award, compared to Jordan’s five in just 12 years. In 2008, Bryant won his first and only MVP award averaging over 28 points. However, a shocking comparison has recently revealed that Kobe’s MVP stats were ‘worse’ than Jordan’s numbers as a 21-year-old rookie.
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Kobe considered Jordan his big brother. Even as a rookie, the Chicago Bulls legend was impressed by the Lakers star’s willingness to learn and his Mamba-esque ferocity on the court. Jordan also recalled that Bryant used to call him in the middle of the night, asking about moves and plays. In fact, when Bean asked His Airness for his trainer Tim Grover’s number, the six-time NBA champion did eventually agree to give it despite initial reluctance.
Kobe Bryant’s MVP season numbers were worse than Michael Jordan’s rookie stats
A Twitter account named “Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans” recently posted a picture of Bryant’s MVP season stats compared to Jordan’s rookie season numbers. Kobe averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.8 steals, while shooting 45.9% from the field. Compared to Bryant’s MVP stats, Jordan averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. He shot 51.5% from the field.
However, perhaps the context of Bryant’s stats needs more focus. While Jordan in his rookie years led his team into the playoffs, he and the Bulls exited in the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks. On the other hand, Kobe’s MVP season saw him changing his game and trusting his teammates more on the offensive end. The stats show that Mamba was passing the ball more. He also led the Lakers to a Western Conference-best 57-25 record in the season. Moreover, Bryant was also selected for the NBA All-Defensive First Team in his MVP season.
#Bulls Michael Jordan ROOKIE season vs #Lakers Kobe Bryant MVP season 🤯 pic.twitter.com/1l3G98IwgO
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) August 9, 2023
Looking at the overall picture, the Lakers star had an excellent overall season. A 29-year-old Kobe was the leader of the best team in the West and the 2008 NBA Finalists. In the previous two seasons, Kobe had much better numbers, averaging over 30 points a game, but that didn’t win him the MVP award.
Jordan believed only Kobe could beat him in a one-on-one game
Jordan was a killer and he refused to get beaten down by his opponents, let alone admit that he could lose. However, when it came to Bryant, Jordan always admitted that the Mamba could possibly beat him in a 1-vs-1 game. Getting such praise from MJ in and of itself is a sign of greatness. Jordan actually entertaining the possibility of losing is perhaps his greatest compliment to Kobe’s game.
When Jordan was asked who would he have wanted to face one-on-one in his prime, he had listed Jerry West, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Kobe Bryant’s names. However, Jordan had added that no one could beat him in a 1-on-1 game except Kobe. “I don’t think I’d lose, other than to Kobe Bryant, because he steals all of my moves,” said the five-time league MVP.
