“Put your feelings in your pockets” — the debate over Anthony Edwards’ opinion took quite a turn. For those unaware, Ant-Man recently stated he disagreed with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant’s leadership style. He believes the two stars were harsh on their teammates.

Further highlighting how every player is different today, Edwards said, “… You got to talk to players differently… You can’t really cuss them out in front of everybody.” Now, this stance created a difference of opinion between Gilbert Arenas and Kenyon Martin on the recent episode of Gil’s Arena. Here’s what the two stars have to say.

The contradicting opinions of Arenas and Martin on Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant’s leadership style

Martin, for one, believes a player should keep his feelings aside since “Winning or losing doesn’t care about your feelings.” He doesn’t view it as degrading or talking bad but challenging a player to do his job, for which he is paid. “That’s what Mike did, that’s what Kobe did–‘I challenge to be your best,'” he added. However, Gil believes that if he, as a leader, maintains a hard stance like “if you don’t work, you can’t play” and only 7 of 15 players are following this, then how can he be a good leader?

Martin countered this chain of thought by terming this to be more like a “boot camp for the Marines” situation. His logic was that individuals don’t get picked in these boot camps based on how they’re speaking. “I don’t have time to worry about if your feelings get hurt when I tell you to get in this damn dirt.” But Arenas stayed adamant in his argument that if you have a weak link and you cannot communicate with him and make him feel a part of the team, then you cannot call yourself a real leader.

While the two sides had multiple arguments, it came down to Martin closing his side with the fact that Kobe and MJ’s methods earned them 11 championships combined. Meanwhile, Gil argued Phil was the leader of the Bulls in these championships and he followed the approach of communicating with different players differently.

Well, as great a coach as Phil Jackson has been, Michael Jordan has sure held his ground to lead majorly. We are speaking about the then face of the NBA here. And Black Mamba had a more or less similar stature with his LA Lakers.

Did Black Mamba and MJ’s teammates have issues with them?

It’s no secret that many players who played with Kobe didn’t like him as a teammate. But from Shaquille O’Neal to Dwight Howard, most of them later accepted the Black Mamba was a different breed. And what he did worked. The fact the Black Mamba ran through Pau Gasol’s chest in ’08 Olympics and Gasol still understood where Bryant came from shows if you could understand the intent behind his ways, Kobe’s approach worked. No wonder Gasol won 2 NBA championships with the Lakers when both Bryant and the team needed it.

Meanwhile, despite winning 6 NBA championships, it’s not as if Michael Jordan never had complaints from his teammates. In fact, he has had some serious allegations about the way he treated his teammates. NBA writer and Jordan insider Sam Smith revealed something similar during his appearance on Krueger and Brooks Podcast. “Players would come to me over the years and said, ‘You know what he did? He took Horace [Grant’s] food away on the plane because Horace had a bad game,'” Smith said on the podcast.

Though Grant himself hasn’t commented on the matter, he was quite critical of MJ after His Airness called Grant a “snitch”. But nothing about Michael Jordan being a bad leader. Then there is Scottie Pippen, considered the Robin to MJ’s Batman once. But hasn’t really been a fan of the 14-time All-Star; especially since The Last Dance released.

“Each episode was the same: Michael on a pedestal, his teammates secondary, smaller, the message no different from when he referred to us back then as his ‘supporting cast,'” Pip had said after stating MJ had the editorial control of the final product. He had even admitted, #23 was horrible to play with but doesn’t deny he was one of the greatest to ever put on the shoes and play basketball.

And it’s not as if MJ never had any praise from his teammates.

The critics of Michael Jordan who also couldn’t help but praise him

Despite his differences, Horace Grant once suggested Jordan deserved to have the NBA MVP award named after him. Appearing on the BS Report with Bill Simmons, Grant remarked, “Don’t compare anybody to Michael Jordan… MJ is in a class by himself.”

He further emphasized on Mike’s unmatched strength, athleticism, and killer instinct. According to Grant, no one else—except for Kobe, to some extent—displayed the same relentless drive. This clearly shows despite all the differences there may have been, Grant had immense respect for MJ’s approach toward the game.

Now, it’s true that Pippen has criticized Mike on multiple occasions. But he has praised His Airness just as much, numerous times. And the fact Jordan not only valued Scottie as a teammate but also credited Pip for his 6 championships refelcts his leardership. “Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen.”          

So there is no denying that both Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan had a leadership style that seemed rough on the teammates. But those who understood the intent behind it didn’t seem to mind it, despite being on the receiving end multiple times. Seemingly, a player who has won a championship can understand what all it takes and Black Mamba and His Airness have established dynasties with their respective franchises.