Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are two of the most loved players in NBA history, and considering that Kobe based a lot of his game around his idol, Michael, ended up having games that were quite similar as well. Elite shot-making ability and tenacious defense were the calling card for both players, and it’s no surprise that they have 11 championships between them, especially considering they both played for Phil Jackson during the most successful part of their careers.
Jordan is thought to be the GOAT and Bryant is also in the conversation, and their skills aren’t in doubt, but fans can’t help but speculate about how they may have performed in the modern NBA. The game in 2022 has evolved to a point where the midrange is not highly valued and teams shoot more three-pointers. There’s also the fact that teams move the ball much faster and try to score more.
So how would Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan fare today? One NBA fan on Twitter had an answer that is unlikely to surprise most NBA fans:
https://twitter.com/TupacAG/status/1528813307255062528
Jordan reached near 38 in 1987 even without the adjustment for pace. The GOAT averaged 37.1 points that season, a staggering number. Bryant had over 35 points per game in the 2005-06 season, but the 2000s were also historically one of the slowest eras of basketball in terms of the pace of the game.
Bryant may have always believed that he could beat Jordan in a one-on-one game, but this shows that the two are almost neck and neck when it comes to their ability to score the basketball. Comparing across eras gets silly after a point as there are too many factors to arrive at any sort of a reasonable conclusion, but it’s safe to say that MJ and Kobe would have been the greatest to do it no matter what decade they played in.
