Even Michael Jordan found himself in complex situations when asked which player he believes is the best or who would he pick for his team if he had the chance. Back in 2013, during an interview with the legendary Ahmad Rashad, Jordan was asked to pick the best player in the league between LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
“In terms of dominance of the game of basketball, it’s LeBron. Championships, Kobe Bryant,” Jordan said. “He wants it so bad, he’s willing to go to the extreme, guarding a guy, guarding a point guard at the age of 34, playing 38 minutes, 40 minutes, it’s crazy. It is what it is, he’s cursed as much as I am. Between the two, that’s a tough choice, but five (rings) beats one.”
Not long after that, Bron would respond to MJ. During the 2013 All-Star weekend, he had the chance to address the comments, agreeing with Jordan on that ‘five beats one’ line, but explaining why he plays and what makes him happy on the court.
“I heard what he said,” James said. “He said he would take Kobe because of six or five rings are better than one and last time he checked five is better than one. That’s his opinion, at the end of the day rings won’t always define someone’s career. If that’s the case, I’d say I would take Russell over Jordan but I wouldn’t or take Robert Horry over Kobe, but I wouldn’t do that. It’s his personal opinion.”
Now LeBron has three rings and is hunting his fourth with the Los Angeles Lakers, where the late Kobe Bryant won five, becoming one of the best players in history. It would be interesting to see what MJ thinks about this now, but knowing his old opinion, maybe he wouldn’t change his stance on that. At the end of the day, five are better than three.
