Kobe Bryant responds to Michael Jordan's comments
Kobe Bryant won his fifth NBA ring last season when his Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. And if the two-time defending champions pull off a three-peat
this year, it would give Bryant six titles, pulling him even with none other than Michael Jordan.
And the race between the two greats was kicked up a notch over the weekend when Jordan made some interesting comments as he promoted his new video game.
“He is always going to be within the conversations of some of the greatest players who’ve played, by the time he is finished,” Jordan told USA Today about Bryant. “Where does he rank among
those, if you are talking about positions? If you are talking about guards, I would say he has got to be in the top 10.”
Many in the media interpreted the comments as a veiled insult towards the 12-time All-Star. These same people wondered how a five-time NBA champion with his unique skill-set could be considered
only top-10. But when asked about the comments, Bryant said he was not insulted.
“It’s an accurate statement,” Bryant said. “I’m definitely one of the top 10 guards. It could mean two, it could mean one, it could mean four or five. I’m definitely one of the top thousand.
Look, I know how he feels about me.”
“There have been a lot of great guards to play the game. For me to sit here and say, ‘He should have said top five,’ that’s disrespectful to the other guards that I’ve watched.”
Bryant said Jordan’s words won’t serve to motivate him further. He said he has enough of that as it is.
“That stuff doesn’t get to me," he said. "You can’t motivate me or take me to a place that I’m not already at.”
In terms of catching up to Jordan, Bryant said he hasn't given it much thought.
“I’ve never given it thought that I wanted to get six to catch Michael,” he said. “His six and my six are different. That’s not to say that his were more challenging than mine because
I had to play a different role and do something out of character my first three. They’re just different.”
Most of the off-season attention has been focused on LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh joining forces in Miami. But the Lakers have quietly improved their own roster with the additions
of Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, and Theo Ratliff.
“Obviously, the trophy remains with us,” Bryant said. “[Other teams] have made steps in the right direction to try to take it from us. That’s what makes it exciting. The hype is warranted.
But for us, it’s business as usual.”
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