Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan? Lakers Legend Shaquille O’Neal Makes the Tough Call on Who Was More Competitive

Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan have often drawn comparisons with one another. Both played the shooting guard position and were leaders for their respective teams. Jordan and Kobe were both knockdown shooters, quick and athletic in getting off the floor, and could finish at the rim with ease.

Fans, players, and analysts usually see a lot of similarities between the two. And it may be because Kobe modeled his game after Michael Jordan. The five-time NBA champion reached out to Jordan in his twilight years and eventually formed a mentor-mentee relationship.

Shaquille O’Neal gives his pick between Kobe and Jordan

But one place where the two could be differentiated was Jordan was a gifted player whereas Kobe had a high work ethic. Even though Jordan used to put in the work to get better, he just had abilities that couldn’t be developed by working out. In addition, His Airness had the mindset and instincts of a cold-blooded assasin.

Whereas on the other hand, Kobe’s work ethic was like no other. Bryant worked harder than everyone else to be the best player in the league. And a lot of players and coaching staff vouched for that.

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On the show DrinkChamps, Shaquille O’Neal sat down with rapper N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN to discuss his career, business ventures, and more. Amidst the various topics that were discussed, N.O.R.E. asked O’Neal a question about Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. And since Shaq had played with both players, O’Neal seemed like the right guy to ask the question.

N.O.R.E. asked The Big Aristotle who was more competitive, Kobe or Jordan? And to that Shaq replied, “You see Jordan and you can see the competitor in him, but Kobe was a different animal.” He also mentioned seeing Kobe shoot and dribble without the ball for hours. And then he would go onto the floor and do the same move.

Kobe and his work ethic

Bryant really worked on his game to push him to the limits. Kobe didn’t just want the win, he wanted to be the best player in the league. There are numerous Kobe Bryant stories about the amount of hard work he put in for his game to get better.

In the docuseries, The Last Dance, there was an interview with Kobe where he addressed the comparisons between him and Jordan. And the Los Angeles Lakers legend wasn’t one to indulge himself in it. Kobe mentioned during the interview that fans would often come up to him and tell him that he could beat Jordan in a one-on-one. And to that he said, ‘What you get from me is from him. I don’t get five championships here without him. Because he guided me so much, he gave me so much great advice.’

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The Black Mamba really wanted to be the best player there was. Even to the point that he took advice from of the one of greatest players to ever play the game. He really left no stone unturned. No wonder Shaq referred to Kobe as a different animal.