Charles Barkley believes Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant had a much different approach to leading a team than LeBron James. The former NBA superstar candidly gave his take on the three legends during an interview with Rowan University.
“I love LeBron. I’ll tell you, LeBron is a really, really nice man and a great player. The difference between Michael, Kobe, and LeBron is: Those two guys will kill your a**. That doesn’t make one way right or wrong,” the round mound of rebound said.
Barkley recalls how Jordan or Bryant did not act friendly when they were in or around the court. They had a set mentality and were going to do anything to fulfill their goals.
“Michael and Kobe, them dudes, they were dangerous. They’re going to win obsessively. They don’t care about you or your feelings.” Barkley added.
Barkley sees the Lakers superstar’s friendliness as an element of the modern NBA. People from Barkley’s generation and the one right after him did not indulge in any friendships with opponents. The rivalries were intense, and the hunger to win was evident.
“And LeBron, he’s a great, great player, but I think he’s a nice guy. I don’t think many people walk around in our generation, saying, ‘Man, those Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are nice guys.’ Those words were never spoken,” Barkley added.
Jordan and Bryant were famous for their intensity. And that flowed into their discipline, how they practiced, how seriously they took all aspects of the game, and how they seemingly did not take any days off.
Both these players had incredible stats to back these claims from Barkley. The two played in an era when three-point shooting was not that popular. And still, the two had shooting percentages of 32.7 (Jordan) and 32.9 (Bryant), respectively.
James has had to develop into a better shooter because the league has changed its priorities during his career. Now that the three-pointer is so integral, James has made himself better and has posted a shooting percentage of 34.9 from beyond the arc.
Although it was the mid-range shot that made them exceptionally lethal for opponents, to the point where defenses had to resort to physically overwhelming the two to get them to stop scoring.
Barkley went on to explain why James’ longevity helped him take the all-time leading scorer position. But if Jordan had played a little while longer and had not taken a hiatus in between his career, things would’ve been different.
According to Barkley, if the Bulls legend played longer, he would’ve crossed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and even set the record so high that James might’ve still been chasing it. But that argument isn’t that far off. Looking at the total points averaged in a season, it shows us a unique picture.
Kobe Bryant played 20 seasons in the NBA, with 33,643 points, which comes down to 1,682 points in a season. Lebron James has already played 21 seasons, scoring 41,837 points, at an average of 1,992 points per season. Michael Jordan, who played 15 seasons in the league, had 32,292 points to his name, at an average of 2,153 points per season.
Add to that the couple of years Jordan was out of the league, plus the last few years with the Wizards, and it has brought down his numbers. But he’s still the only player in NBA history to average over 30 points per game throughout his career.
Thus, Barkley saying that Jordan could’ve held that throne for James to eventually take over isn’t that far off. Barkley perpetuates that even though these three players are the top three of all time, in his list, Bryant and Jordan are unlike anyone; they were different.
