"The Great Debate"

It's time to Break It Down!

“The Great Debaters” is a 2007 movie, directed by and starring Denzel Washington. That film, entertaining though it were, is not the subject of this post. If my referencing it, has stoked your nostalgic flames, stop reading now and hurry on down to Blockbuster, consult Netflix, or perhaps check out you personal DVD collection. The only advantage I offer if you continue reading is the assurance that it will require considerably less time to read this blog than the 2 hours, 6 minutes runtime of the movie.

Following the compelling drama (for NBA Basketball fans anyway) of a 7-Game Championship Series, especially one featuring the Lakers (OK, and the Celtics), and their irrepressible star, Kobe Bryant, many sports fans have accelerated the urgency of the “The Great Debate.” Of course, for those unable to readily distinguish the difference between goat, the livestock, and GOAT, the acronym for Greatest of All Time, the essential nature of this discussion may be lost. Moreover, if you loathe professional basketball, or you view the current Los Angeles Lakers to be just a bunch of overpaid egos from the Left Coast, or you recall the 84-98 era Chicago Bulls as mere some pro team from the Midwest…you may wonder, what debate?

But for the hardcore fandom, for Lakers’ partisans, for incredi-Bulls’ boosters, and especially for anyone who ever bought a pair of Nikes and imagined themselves possessing the cold, calculating precision of MJ or of The Black Mamba, and mouthed the words, Just Do It, this is indeed a discussion that has taken on the character of “The Great Debate” of contemporary sports.

The basic story line is simple enough. Michael Jordan, a University of North Carolina alum, played for Chicago Bulls teams that won 6 NBA Championships. Kobe Bryant has been a member of Lakers squads that have won 5 NBA Titles. To make the tableau even richer, both were/have been coached by the same man, Phil Jackson, during all of their Title runs. In addition, Kobe is openly lobbying Jackson to return to coach the Lakers again next year. Bryant will attempt to win his 6th Championship Ring, and complete his second three-peat, matching both Jordan’s total and the way he acquired his Titles and rings. Ostensibly, that would even the score, and enable Kobe Nation to lay claim to at least “equal greatness.”

Needless to say, after that, one could logically expect Kobe to launch the quest for Number 7 (the number of completion). While a look at Kobe’s career can produce countless examples of his fascination, if not compulsion to emulate Jordan, who can hate the young man for that. To aspire to “Be like Mike” was such an intoxicating notion; Gatorade gave birth to an entire ad campaign. Not just any ad campaign; one of the most successful ad campaigns ever. It is no wonder, Kobe, who is 15 years Jordan’s junior, got caught up. What fan didn’t?

Where does one begin, in the search to construct the case for one of these phenoms in favor of the other? I admit I do not have the definitive answer. But like most fans, I have a rock-solid opinion. First, they do share a number of similar traits. Both were blessed with excellent size for their position, mesmerizing agility, stunning athleticism, and an indomitable spirit and will to win.

I would give Kobe the edge in ball handling and shooting range. However, MJ had the speed and strength to get anywhere on the court he wanted to go…whenever he wanted to get there…wherever there was. Moreover, as he matured, and devised other ways to flummox his adversaries, aside from meeting them at the rim and creating an instant poster them, often viciously; always mercilessly, he added more than adequate range to his already extraordinary array of basketball savvy, knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Because Jordan was older when he arrived in the NBA, he came to the game as a more physically developed player. Arguably, after having attended college for 3 years, where he also won a National Title, he started with a more advanced knowledge and understanding of the game. In the summer after Jordan’s last year as a Tar Heel player at the University of North Carolina, he competed as a member of the 1984 United States Men’ Olympic Basketball Team, and won a Gold Medal. As a result, he added International competition to hi pre-NBA resume. Finally, while neither player will go down as the greatest of shooters in the history of the game, Jordan was a better scorer. Yes Kobe scored a higher number of points in a single game, 81 against the Toronto Raptors, but listing the highlights of Jordan’s offensive wizardry would be almost embarrassing. The guy was a virtual point-machine.

In all honesty, as a Laker-lifer, I hope Kobe can persuade the Zen-Master, Phil Jackson, to return, and that in doing so, they make a successful assault on a 6th ring for Kobe. In fact, I would like to see him get, not only a 3rd straight, but a 4th, which would nudge My beloved Lakers up from their current Sweet Sixteenth Title, to 18; one Title more than the Celtics. That would truly lift my spirits.

All that would be all well and good, but it would not change the facts. Some observers would argue that neither Kobe, nor Jordan has earned the title, GOAT. They would say that esteemed designation belongs to Bill Russell, who won 11 Titles during his 13-year career, including 8 in a row. His college team, the University of San Francisco Dons, won consecutive National Titles, and he also won an Olympic Gold Medal. The NBA Championship MVP Trophy is now named in his honor. Russell is certainly the most accomplished player in the history of the game. If basketball greatness is accorded due to earning hardware on the hardwood, Russell wins, hands down.

Despite Russell’s compelling case, my personal favorite is Wilt Chamberlain, who broke or set most scoring records in the game, if they did not involve free-throw shooting, including, scoring 100 points in a single game, and averaging 50 points a game…for an entire season. He won 7 Scoring Titles, lead the league in field goal percentage 9 times, won 11 Rebounding Titles, and lead the league in assists once. He won two NBA Titles, 4 Regular Season MVP’s, 1 NBA Finals MVP Award, played on 13 All-Star Teams, including 10 times on the 1st Team. Chamberlain, who was enshrined in the NBA Hall of Fame, was named one of the 50 Greatest NBA players in 1996.

But I digress. “The Great Debate” is about Kobe and MJ. Here is where I admit, in my view, there is no debate. MJ wins this battle, if you can call it that, hands down. Playing with less talent than Kobe has had most of his career, Jordan was the man, the day he arrived for his first practice. He started his first NBA game, and recorded his first 40-point outing in just his 9th contest. He was a model of both consistency and durability, playing in the maximum 82 games during 9 of his 15 seasons, plus 81 games one season, and 80 in another. Kobe has played in 82 games only 3 times in 14 years.

Just how dominant was MJ? Consider these points:

• He went to the NBA Finals 6 times, all with the Bulls.

• He was 6-6 in Championship Series

• He won 6 NBA Finals MVP Awards

• He led the League in scoring all six of those years, plus on 4 other occasions.

• He averaged 41 points a game over the duration of an entire NBA Finals Series

• He scored the first triple-double in an All-Star Game

• He won 3 All-Star MVP Awards

• He won 5 NBA MVP Awards

• He won 2 Slam Dunk Titles

• He earned 10 First Team All-Star Appearances

• He earned 3 additional All-Star appearances, and missed one All-Star Game due to injury

• He was a 9 time NBA All Defensive Team member

• He won 1 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award

• He scored 69 points in an NBA regular season game against the Cleveland Cavaliers

• He scored 63 points in an NBA playoff game against the Boston Celtics

• He anchored the Original Dream Team, and collected his second Olympic Gold Medal.

Even though he took a year and a half hiatus from the NBA on one occasion, and retired for three years on another, he returned strong after both breaks. He played an abbreviated season after his Baseball experiment, and then went on to lead the Bulls to 3 more Titles. After his first retirement, he played two more years, and averaged 20 pints in the NBA as a 40-year old.

Yes, Kobe has big time cred. His still developing portfolio includes:

• 5 NBA Titles

• 1 NBA MVP Award

• 2 Finals MVP Awards

• 2 Scoring Titles

All which fall short of The Jordan Standard, by the way. Kobe does have more Finals appearances than MJ, but he has also lost twice in 7 Championship Series, while His Airness was a perfect 6-6. And of those 5 Titles, The Black Mamba has amassed, well; let’s not forget Shaquille O’Neal was the MVP in the first 3 of those. Finally, Jordan got off early and he finished strong. He notched his first 40-point game in his 9th outing as a pro, and he would get 40+ six more times...in his rookie season.  A season in which he won Rookie of the Year, and made the All-Star Team. In Kobe’s 1st year, he averaged 7.6 points in 15.5 minutes per game. In his Final season, nearly 20 years later, Michael scored 43 point in a game against the New Jersey Nets February 21, 2003, four days after his 40th birthday, and averaged 20 points per game for the season.  He had scored 51 points against the Charlotte Hornets the previous season, after coming out of a 3-year retirement. I guess that means Kobe does still have time.

Seriously, as for “The Great Debate;” what debate? I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427309/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.O.A.T.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Bulls

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Bryant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06dQSwnxBbM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Jackson

http://thebestten.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/chapter-12-first-40-point-game/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaquille_O'Neal

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/stats?playerId=110

http://www.mccsc.edu/~jcmslib/mlk/jordan/stats.htm

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/michael_jordan/

http://www.nba.com/history/players/jordan_bio.html

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kobe_bryant/career_stats.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain's_100-point_game