Throughout his entire career in the NBA, Kobe Bryant has constantly been compared to arguably the greatest basketball of all-time in Michael Jordan.
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With Kobe on the verge of passing Jordan’s career total of 32,292 points, the comparisons and debate over who’s had the better career have started to kick into high gear once again.
Although Jordan took only 15 seasons to be third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, and Kobe will do it in 19, the face of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise says he’s had a different path than the Chicago Bulls legend, via Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding:
“Nineteen years is a long time to be playing, and I’ve had a different career path than Michael,” he said. “It has been a hell of a marathon. I’m really proudest of that.”
As the milestones and championship rings began to pile up for Kobe early in his career, it was impossible to ignore the comparisons between the two. Bryant’s style of play mirrored Jordan’s so much as compilations videos have been made by fans showing both players making virtually identical moves to show their similarities.
Ultimately, despite all the individual accolades and Bryant passing Jordan in the next week or two, the true comparison comes down to championships won. Jordan has six and Bryant is still stuck at five.
As of right now, Kobe has one more season to go in his Hall of Fame career with little chance of winning another title before he’ll retire. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Bryant signs another deal with the Lakers in the summer of 2016, but there’s no guarantee Los Angeles will have the pieces in place to compete for a 17th title in the twilight of the superstar’s career.
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