Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James are arguably the three best to play in the NBA in the past 30 years. Ranking the three has always been an arduous chore, as each fan, analyst, and former and current players have their biases. Trevor Ariza is no different.
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The former Lakers star grew up watching Jordan, played alongside Bryant for two years, and has plenty of experience facing off against James. The 39-year-old is a massive admirer of all three icons but believes the Bulls superstar is a cut above the other two. On the 25/10 Show, he said,
“Pardon me if you’re religious or whatever but Jordan is who you’d pray to. Kobe and Bron is like 1A and 1B to me. Kobe is like my favorite player…Bron is probably, as far as talent, as far as longevity, as far as [being gifted], he could do everything and he’s doing it at a high level still to this day. So, you can’t really go wrong with whoever you like.”
Ariza added that comparing James to Jordan and Bryant is difficult because the two guards played a similar style and had the same mindset. He said,
“Jordan and Kobe is a better comparison because they are like fu**in killers…they’re gonna like slit your throat.”
He acknowledged that the Lakers superstar also has a killer instinct, but believes his game is closer to Magic Johnson’s than the Bulls icon and the five-time NBA champion. Despite believing that Jordan was as good as a mythical figure, he once claimed another guard was briefly better than him.
Trevor Ariza believes Penny Hardaway was better than Michael Jordan
During an appearance on Iman Shumpert’s IMAN AMONGST MEN podcast, Ariza revealed he grew up as a Penny Hardaway fan before making a shocking claim. He said,
“Penny, like growing up, he was the standard… For two years, Penny Hardaway was better than Michael Jordan.”
Understandably, he received some pushback from Shumpert, but Ariza didn’t budge. He claimed that in 1994 and 1995, when Jordan was coming out of his first retirement, the guard was better than the Bulls legend.
To Ariza’s credit, Hardaway and the Magic did eliminate Chicago from the playoffs in 1995, so perhaps his hot take may have some truth to it.
