Kobe Bryant Had the Perfect Answer to Put an End to His Comparisons With LeBron James and Michael Jordan

Kobe Bryant, often regarded as one of the best players in the NBA, has faced several comparisons with likes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James. But Kobe hardly gave weight to such trivial issues.

In 2017, when a reporter asked Bryant what he thought about the different comparisons and debates, he said he never thought of it. For Bryant, only things where he could make a difference mattered. He said thinking about debates wasn’t very productive.

“I don’t (think about it). One thing about me is I’m only going to care about something I know I can definitively win,” Bryant said. “If it’s not something I can definitively win, I’m not going to pay attention to it. If there’s an argument that’s happening, that argument is never going to go anywhere. Everybody’s going to argue till they’re blue in the face, so why would I think about it?

“If we’re playing ping pong, I know I can beat you in ping pong, I’m going to beat you in ping pong. I’m going to think about that. That’s a definitive thing. So I don’t think about that much.”

Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James: Difficult to choose one

Bryant rightfully believed that the debates are never-ending. There are always people bringing out their perspective on why a player is good or bad. Sometimes, it is best to believe every player is great in his own way.

In his time, Jordan had revolutionized the game of basketball with his athleticism and popularized the game across the globe. He played 14 seasons in the NBA, was an NBA All-Star in each season, and a scoring champion in 10 of them. His Chicago Bulls team dominated the league for a decade in the 1990s. In eight years between 1990 and 1998, Bulls had won six titles.

Bryant came into the NBA towards the later stages of Jordan’s career. As an admirer of Jordan, Bryant carried the tradition forward and left his own legacy by playing 20 years in the league. Similarly, James has been a great player in the 17 years he has played in the league so far.

While each of them is great in their own way, it is difficult to pick one of them as the best. And like Bryant, it is better to not think too much about it and just admire each of them for their greatness.