Kobe vs Jordan, December 1997

[@crb4059]

Awesome vid, havent seen since it was aired live. I just watched the last game between MJ and Kobe. MJ scores like 23 points, Kobe finished with 55+, amazing, two of a kind.

[@madddawg11]

OH good a post with comments on the topic, thanks for returning to the convo. I'm not saing Fish is some all world ball handler or anything that's besides the point. What I'm saying is that Fish hits big shot on a consistant basis. I dont watch as much Lakers games as you do as I'm not from the LA area and am not a Lakers fan (not a LA hater either). However it's obvious to me that fish is a perfect player in the triangle. Hit's open shots, tough defender and is fearless goin to the basket.

[@MeAndMyG]

Very nice vid. Kobe is the best player in the NBA, and has been since Jordan's retirement (pre-Wiz)

[@RaidersRock]

Jordan = true class. I love watching these old videos of young Kobe vs. MJ

[@drezyyouknownow]

THANK U VERY MUCH!!

[@jeremyshockey234]

this is amazing. there is nothing but brilliance on the court between those too. michael jordan was still in his prime at the time, but it was clear he wasn't the most well conditioned athlete on the floor. simply brilliant.

[@Emmanuel12345metal]

You're right, I hate that people put thumbs down on you knowing that it's true, Yes Jordan this Jordan that he's the greatest but in his old time there was no Jordan vs Zone like there is now for Kobe

[@jeccorpuz]

Michael Jordan is one class act. Great player, great guy! Giving kobe advices on his game. this is just one reason why MJ is the greatest. I am a Kobe fan, MJ is a great player. Maybe the greatest.

[@Dark01Dreams]

aw maan KOBE is a legend , they're both Legends

[@IMBATMANANDIMCOOL]

Those two back to back moves showing MJ's layup and Kobe's fallaway each showing what there best move is.

[@tungpha]

I was living in colorado from 1994 to 1998 and I'm the biggest Lakers fan you can find. I moved back to Ca in '98 and I notice this young man wearing #8, I ask my cousin who is this kid? He told me that he's the next MJ, two years later we win the championship. We gonna win this year and there's nothing the Celtics or the Cavaliers can do about it.

[@JKFrazier]

12 years later, Kobe is finally getting to use that advice with some regularity and it's doing him very well so far.

[@slyda007]

Kobe is the greatest player now, hands down. MJ is hard to top as the greatest player ever. The way he plays with his team and commands it was just amazing. Kobe's getting there though. Unless Kobe gets more rings, Kobe will remain in the Top 5 to 10 greatest to ever play the game.

[@sn0wsh00s]

Really interesting seeing the player that dominated the 90's play against the player that would eventually dominate the 00's. Easy to forget how long Kobe has been playing.

[@nolanpratt343]

From 5:00 on... pure class. Michael was and is the standard of professionalism and heart. What a beast. What other player in the NBA has Kobe ever asked advice from during a game?

[@brocky]

I'll say this much.. Kobe sure paid attention to Jordan's wisdom. Glad they captured this clip.

[@AirChina23]

Wow...Kobe played great for a 19 yr-old. I think MJ saw a mirror image of himself when Kobe hit that fadeaway on him. MJ likes Kobe and Kobe respects MJ, and I don't see why people can't become a fan of both of them.

[@nanablvd]

Kobe's styles of play are really the most reminiscent of MJ's among all players in the history of the game. The one turnover play in the vid where MJ post up and switched pivot foot and turned really shocked me; Kobe did that exact move several times the past year. No comparisons here of cuz; i just wanna congratulate KB that his hard work finally paid off

[@Uhjay]

gotta give kobe his ups, not too many NBA vets even have the confidence to go at mike. He was 19! The greatest similarity between the two is that they aint afraid to fail or look bad. And it was obvious, kobe got mikes attention.

[@someperson111]

Kobe is knocking on the door to top 10 ever, he is well on his way to getting to the top spot though.

[@tyenolam]

@blackadam06 That's true. But a Finals MVP award (IMO the most important award in the NBA) does judge a player's individual talent, and most importantly, their ability to perform in the clutch. So, let's take a look at the two. Kobe Bryant has reached the Finals 7 times. He is 5-2 in Finals play. Out of those 7 times he has reached the Finals, he has been Finals MVP only 2 times. Exceptional achievements.

[@KobeB24]

Good find, B

[@pushinweight]

i like the way you write

[@Districtboy24]

Yea Said It Best Thanx My Mans

[@tmc02086]

Both of them are the greatest player in NBA history

[@jrios0951]

IMO, Kobe is as close as we have to Jordan right now. I still believe MJ is better. He's is one of the best offensive players ever and at the same time, one of the best defensive players ever. When Kobe played against MJ, Kobe was 18-19 yrs old and MJ was already 34-35 yrs old and clearly not the same MJ we saw at 22-23 yrs old. Jordan's accomplishments speaks for itself, Kobe is the MVP for the first time on his 12th season.

[@odie404]

No one will ever be better than Michael Jordan, especially Kobe Bryant

[@JaquanPerry]

JUST TOO CLASSIC.

[@massdagod]

Jordan would DOMINATE today with the rules now. you cant put your hands on players while they are driving at ALL now. dude wouldd have been unstoppable. in 1998, 35 year old Michael Jordan won All star MVP, League MVP, and Finals MVP while leading the league in scoring and Leading his team to a 6-0 Finals Record...Again, at 35 Years of age.

[@alsonwong]

Watching this reminds me a lot of Jordan's "23 vs. 39" Gatorade commercial.

[@FANJG24]

I'm not saying that Kobe is BETTER than Jordan, but he is right there with him. Nobody will ever be greater than Jordan, Kobe Bird, or Magic. When Kobe retires, everybody (yes, even you haters out there) will realize just how great he really is/was.

[@stringhawke]

The Bulls won that game pretty handily because they were a better, veteran team than the Lakers at the time, but the one-on-one duel between MJ and Kobe that night was something for the ages. Neither one of them gave an inch: it was like watching a battle between demigods.

[@iaresimon]

Kobe did GREAT for anybody playing against Jordan... he got the better of him defensively.. two of the greatest of all time..

[@tyenolam]

@blackadam06 On to MJ. Michael Jordan has reached the Finals 6 times. He is 6-0 in Finals play. Out of the 6 times he has reached the Finals, he was Finals MVP 6 times. This is IMO the achievement that separates Mike from everyone else. Because (unless you're Jerry West) it means your team won the title and you were the most important factor. Only 2 players in NBA history have won the Finals MVP three times in a row: Shaq and Michael. The difference? MJ did it twice.

[@FANJG24]

There was nobody in Jordan's era that scored like him. Kobe had players like Iverson, James, Anthony, Durant, O'Neal, etc that all averaged over 30 ppg at some point in their careers.

[@madddawg11]

Shaq was the most dominant player in the League until he left LA, that was a common theme when you saw ANY analyst from ANY broadcast. Rodman was in his mid 30's whn he came to Chi, far from his prime. If i remember correctly I think it was Horry and Fisher hitting some fairly big shots during that run (slight understatement). But you're right Kobe was the only clutch player on his team (sarcasm in case you didn't catch it).

[@TheGodOfBasketball1]

Now you're geting it :)

[@Kakarot_3000]

It has everything to do with basketball, if you play basketball than you have a better understanding and can better appreciate the game more than others who don't play, you would understand little things like moves that get you free enough to get a shot off or free enough to make a play, that's what it has to do with it, and obviously yes I think that, seeing as though you commented me on the Marc Jackson video, I think you know that answer, that's my opinion, when Kobe retires he'll be #1.

[@TheGodOfBasketball1]

He was cut as a sophomore. He was dominating for his team as a senior.

[@LiquidSpartan117]

what a SHOW.

[@Vam999]

@hoopfan71 I never once said KB was MJ... I really don't understand why so many people think Jordan is better when Kobe is still winning Championships. Back in the day MJ didn't really have competition... He only had like what 5 good players to give him comp? Kobe in the other hand has... KD, Westbrook, D-Wade, LBJ, Rondo, D-Rose, CP3, Melo, Amare, Howard, Dirk, Wall etc etc... And people gotta respect the fact that KB is NOT afraid to play "Hero" like you said. MJ was great but KB is G.O.A.T

[@relaxwithjoe]

kobe the new and improved jordan

[@JOEREND]

KOBE ES EL PUTO AMO....

[@MrKjames1]

DAMN THAT SHOT AT 3:23 WAS AMAZING

[@TheGodOfBasketball1]

Don't forget Shaq was the one going up against Tim Duncan and D-Rob, arguably the two best players on the Spurs team (at least they were if you looked at MVP voting) at the time.

[@ihyuiyiyi]

Kobe might be the best 19 year old ever. You can see that his game back then look liked a 28 year old. His skill set was far more advanced than anybody I've ever seen. Michael at 19 was still in college while Lebron at 19 relied mostly on his athleticism while Kobe was a prodigy for a skill set way way advanced for his age.

[@imsljr420]

phil jackson said jordan made pippen better...the video got removed but it was during the 98 finals he said " the influence of micheal on scottie pippen was almost from day 1, michaal kind of helped pippen get out there & showed him some of his tricks"....harper also said "i wish ppl could've seen how hard those 2 went at each other in practice, jordan was the reason pippen became the player(or defender) he was. 4got if he said player or defender.

[@KuyaArbee]

its all about the team and winning the game. Individual scoring doesnt matter. MJ is a much more exciting player to watch, not to mention MJ'S creativity and his Airtime.

[@EBHERNANDEZ7]

I liked that jordan gave kobe some advice. It would be nice if kobe went to the Charlotte Bobcats to play under Jordan. What if Jordan made one more comeback and played alongside Kobe.

[@DonCorleone87]

Michael will still be the greatest player in NBA history... but you gotta love Kobe

[@permanentgrin]

Kobe never dunked on Jordan in this video. He did get by him but his teammate had something to do w/ it. Micheal is a class act. I love Kobe too

[@doomriser]

Both are very, very good

[@nolbe21]

the competition level is higher now, maybe Jordan wouldnt be as bright if he had played at this level. kobe at 19 was putting on a show... AT 19 YEARS OF AGE!

[@madddawg11]

russel, Wilt, OR have valid arguements but you are just being sarcastic with Horry I'm sure. I never saw any of the first three play and don't have time to look it up right now but MJ's rookie year resulted in 11 more wind than the year before, he was injured the second year and when Scottie came in he only averaged 10 points a game bro, almost 3 turnovers a game also. Oh and bulls were knocked out of playoffs by some pretty good teams themselves. props for the post though.

[@TheGodOfBasketball1]

Well we've already seen Jordan drop 40 and 50 point games in today's game and being a 2-time All-Star in 2 years with the Wizards while he was 38-40 years old.

[@luktheduk68]

@ZZdubbleB he told him how to do that famous fadeaway jumpshot which now sets him apart from everyone

[@CatchCraftInc]

yah well no one dominated like jordan, he saved the league, but i think some people would agree that for the past 1/2 decade or so kobe has been pretty dominant, although that might just be a sign of a lower level of competition, who knows, im no expert.

[@HerNick07]

Kobe is the only player ever comparable to MJ! They even share the same fade away! MJ is the best of all time and Kobe is the best in the league at this time.

[@CHRISTIANABUSED]

some of the Kobe fans never saw Jordan play in his prime even only during his 2nd 3-peat.

[@YoungTon22]

most people arent anti kobe. we are just anti comparisons with the greatest that ive have ever seen.

[@jboniniceo]

i think this years finals, says it all, kobe will never come close to jordan. charisma - jordan, talent-jordan, humility-jordan, character-jordan, world fame-jordan, history-jordan, heart-jordan, love of the game-jordan, defense-jordan, offense-jordan, there is nothing Kobe can do, he will be forgotten as jordan will always be known as a legend.

[@Wrxrtd]

Pause it at 4:32. I want that as a poster! That would make an absolutely awesome shot.

[@XbuiiX]

You're right. But the teams Kobe faced weren't a great challenge. Also, Kobe had Shaq. The teams that MJ faced were much tougher such as the Lakers led by Magic, Celtics led by Bird and the Pistons led by Isaiah

[@madddawg11]

regular season PPG in title years=Harp 8.2\Fish 9.6 and playoff PPG in same years=Harp 6.3\ Fish 9.4!! this is from the Lakers website. "He played in 56 of the 58 playoff games of the Three-peat and he was the season and playoff third scorer of the team in 2001 and 2002 with averages of 13.4 and 10.2 points per game in playoffs."

[@exslang02]

kobe will never ever touch jordan's greatness, anyone who knows basketball will know jordan is untouchable in the stats department, in the clutch and his killer instinct!

[@rrTale]

MJ has 6 rings with 6 finals MVP to match, 5 regular NBA MVP, 10 scoring titles, 14 time all star ( in 3 of them was MVP), 10 times all nba 1st team, 9 times all defensive team, was named defensive player of the year in 88', has the record for career points per game. michael was more complete than russell in so many ways. and when u talk about clutch u dont think of larry bird anymore, MJ has taken his place with his numerous clutch performances

[@Vinniemaclaker]

Who cares who is better than that guy When Jordan was in his prime and performing at bball games everyone was hatin on him just like their doin with Kobe now No one was enjoyin MJ playin with his style & now that he retired now everyone's talkin bout him like he's a GOD I miss watchin MJ play but now there's Kobe and all you can do is watch greatness play while he's in his prime Cause I can almost bet that all these guys that are hatin are goin to talk bout Kobe like he's a GOD when he retires

[@onfree5y12]

very good !!

[@Siegeclan34]

utfanatic2000, what is your opinion on steve nash winning 2 straight mvp's & (according to the nba giving him those 2 straight mvp's) being in the same league or even LOL as good as mj and magic johnson.

[@123bigr]

nickname-OK, let's leave Championships out. MJ-six time MVP MJ-Defensive player of the year MJ- Only other person besides Wilt to score 3000+ in a season MJ-2nd all time in steals(stockton first) MJ-Highest ppg in NBA history MJ-Averaged 30ppg for career and 33ppg in the Playoffs when it really counted MJ-Dropped 50+ at the age of 38 on the defenses Kobe faces.Could U imagine what a young MJ would do? Bill Russell was great, but he was mainly a defensive force. MJ had a complete game.

[@rainbowcicak]

I have already watch the video a long time ago. It's just all up to my own preference and opinion. You should know that everyone has different views. If I conclude that Kobe has done more amazing moves then Jordan and you don't. Then there's no point trying to force your opinion on me by saying 'I bet you wouldn't say Kobe has done more amazing moves'. There are plenty of Kobe videos which shows his crazy fade aways, game winners, buzzer beaters, crazy footwork and many more.

[@tony16222]

if you could recall, during the last season pippen hardly played bcuz of his back injury and jordan was still able to pull them to a championship.

[@jayceonn]

@Gyro911 there a reason why there is a past and a present. kobe did not choke on ANY of their encounters this year,he also hit the game winner the last clash

[@sopa71479]

kobe plays in an era where perimeter players roam free because of the no hand check rule. also its easier to get to the rim because of the 3 sec def rule bigs are not allowed to camp in the paint waiting to clog the land in the event any penetration

[@imsljr420]

the zen master also said jordan is the greatest he's ever coached & said if he played now he could average 45.....his words not mine.

[@dannivince]

Michael already have the "Best player of all-time title"...but like all others its still arguable....

[@madddawg11]

once again for those of you that missed it the first time!! her are SOME of MJ's credentials: 6x NBA champion; 5x MVP; 6x Finals MVP; 10x All-NBA 1st Team; Defensive Player of the Year; 9x All-Defensive First Team; 14x All-Star; 10x NBA scoring champion; 3x All-Star MVP. We'll talk again when ANYONE has a line like this!!! Once again hands down IMO. No reason to get all upset because I have a different opinion than you. I just think you are DEAD WRONG that's all.

[@sleepyhungry]

You may need glasses. A player's skill level isn't defined by their team's results or their individual statistics. BUT there is one way to measure individual skill using stats. That would be done by comparing the maximum number of points scored in one game. Wilt Chamberlain was very skilled.

[@Emmanuel12345metal]

Yep YOU'RE correct i barely saw Jordan vs zone isolation ,but somehow you have not answered my last question there are player's now who can play amazing and you somehow ignored the question where I said,"Jordan is the greatest for NOW!"meaning there will be a player/s that will become even greater than Jordan and I don't care if you disagree I just told this other guy how in the Olympics many athlete's broke record's and anything is possible.

[@sopa71479]

That is true MJ has never scored 81 points but the things MJ has done destroys anything that kobe has done in his brilliant career. One 81 point game doesnt compare to a whole career of excellence

[@rrTale]

U seem to forget Michael is known as Air Jordan. I wonder why that is.. There sure is no difference between the 2 in the hang time aspect. They both could dunk from the ft line. I wont say one has more hangtime than the other since i only saw MJ play. Much respect to both of them.

[@jasoncooper81]

Anyone know where to find the audio of what they were talking about?

[@oisdog]

yea rookies didnt get starts in those days he didnt even start in his second season but was a starter on the allstar team..

[@kareemali]

i dont see why jordn fans get so upset when anyone gives kobe props, the boy is bad, he is the dominant player in his era and jordan was the dominant player in his. dr j fans didnt get bent out of shape when magic took his spot and magic fans were not mad when jordan took his, its a natural progression

[@Kakarot_3000]

You have a point about the tongue but Kobe watched alot of Jordan film growing up, he stuck with it. The #23 didn't stop Lebron, Rose, and others from dawning it. Everyone that plays basketball has a piece of Jordan in them. I remember the whole"Bulls/Kobe trade" the Bulls were the only team that had pieces to fit or atleast try to even out that trade, and as far as moves, check them out for yourself, I think Kobe has Jordan beat with moves

[@tony16222]

well if your from the 80's you could recall jordan schooling all of them in the eighties. just remember what bird said after he got schooled by jordan. the only diffrence is that jordan didn't have a team to compete against the celtics, piston and lakers. it wasn't until pippen and phil came along to put the team together. Know if you have some king of knowledge on the game you would know that jordan made all he's teammates better unlike other players that just care about themselves (kobe).

[@YoungTon22]

i understand when people say kobe is kobe and mike is mike. what people really mean though is kobe could never be the greatest ever because michael jordan is the greatest ever

[@dangerboy123]

Jordan is still the greatest but his era is over, Please acknowledge that. All of you saying kobe sucks would be saying jordan sucks, if you look at kobes style you can see alot of jordan influences. Kobe does alot of amazing shit and no one in the nba can even touch him . Kobe is good stop acting like he isnt

[@hajable9]

If Michael and Kobe were at the same age of 19 at the same time, we all know who the man would be, MICHAAAELL JORRDANN!!!!!. just good fun. Every bball star has his moments of glory and then they all have to face the ultimate basketball defender and blocker. It is called AGE!!!!

[@marti1003]

kobe is te best baketbollist of the word

[@IMBATMANANDIMCOOL]

Damn 4:28 it's like looking at the two greatest players of all time.

[@knink24]

Top 5 players of all time 1. Michael Jordan 2. Magic Johnson 3. Bill Russell 4. Kobe Bryant ( if kobe ends up with 8 rings which is highly possible he has to go down as the best player ever) 5. Larry Bird

[@madddawg11]

MJ is where Kobe got almost his entire game from.

[@jmcintyre90]

That's cool; no problems here. I think my comments were really directed at folks who say that Kobe is already better than Jordan. In my opinion, any conversation of the greatest EVER has to include Jordan, and Kobe just hasn't earned that status...yet.

[@madddawg11]

from 93-94 to 04-05 when RM retired the Pacers were 573-379, that's about 67% winning percentage, plus they won the central 4 time in that timeframe so yeah he won alot genius. No respect to Dumars who is on most peoples top 10 shooting guards list of all time, MJ played against D. Wilkins also BTW since you are high on him. Arenas is 6'2" he came to the UA and that's what he was measured as before he was drafted. That's one of the reasons he slipped as far as he did.

[@Legendofzoom]

I admit this was pretty much decided already. Shaq was injured and this was only Kobe's 2nd year in the NBA. Still even though the Lakers lost this game they got there payback the next year at the Forum. I wish there was a video of the Bulls Lakers game in 97 in Los Angeles when the Bulls were in there trademark Black Uni's. The Lakers beat them that year

[@2kking4reel]

there is no greatest player of all time, each era has their player. it WAS jordan n NOW its kobe.

[@jjones88]

kobe is by far a better basketball player than mj...name one thing jordan can do that kobe cant....and that 81 point game if im correct the lakers were getting blown out....and for a wingman to score that much its incredible...also i think thats the same year he scored 62 on dallas and outscored their entire team thru 3 quarters....62-61

[@Edd1e8]

anyone else notice that when Jordan got backdoored, HE DIDN'T CARE? When it was Bull's possession immediately after the play, he still just ran to offense instead of calling for the ball as if his manhood was threatened. I vaguely remember this blowout loss as a Laker fan. The game looks much different just watching all of Kobe's makes in this video.

[@rsx2]

This is the 2nd real game they met. The 1st real game was the year before. And within the first 3 seconds, MJ spun baseline on Kobe and dunked the ball. here's the link: /watch?v=EuuEUJApCOI and put it around 1:28minute mark.