Gilbert Arenas Speaks on MJ vs Kobe

In the great debate among fans to decide just which hoops star holds dominion over all others as the greatest player in NBA history, Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers are frequent contenders.

In many ways, the matchup between the two is a bout between master and apprentice on par with the Death Star lightsaber duel between Jedi master Obi-wan Kenobi and Sith lord Darth Vader. While they didn’t play on the same team, Bryant has made no secret of the fact that much of his game was patterned after the moves made famous by His Airness.

But who would ultimately come out on top in this epic showdown of teacher and student? Kobe or MJ?

Former Washington Wizards All-Star Gilbert Arenas offered his analysis of the pairing on Instagram–

The Debate…Who’s Better?!?! we have to break down the two players..ALL Stats and rules removed….you have a (self made man) #KOBE standing at 6’6 with a 38 inch vert..a work ethic of a Man who seemed #Machinelike…the basketball IQ of pure genius…the confidence of a man who ruled this planet….these type of ppl comes around every 10 years….#mayweathers #jerryrice #michaeljohnson…Now u have the (freak of nature) #JORDAN standing at 6-6 with a 48 inch vert…a work ethic of a #AlienLifeForm…the #IQ of someone who created the sport…the confidence of a man who WAS the planet..to see who jordan was,WE have to build him by combining a few players….we will all agree #KOBE is close but since #MJ jump 1 foot higher…Give #KOBE Vince Carter jumping ability and control in the air even tho #Mj jumped higher then vince,wish i could stopped there but jordans (type 2 fibers,fast twitch muscles were off the charts..giving him the ability to explode off the move like a rocket without slowing down to gather..one player that has that ability #westbrook so Now we give #KOBE #westbrook’s ability to rocket move at full speed..Now we have kobe with vince carter’s jumping ability and westbrook’s powerful movements and takeoff ability…now only if kobe had this capability he would have been JORDAN and hint why (Phil Jackson said Jordan would avg 50 in this era)…Kobe just wasn’t gifted the way MJ was but u have to give him his credit for working his ass off too get mentioned in the same lane as this (unhumanman) it shows u how hard kobe worked but now u know why jordan at 36 looked far more dominant then kobe at 36..when jordan started slowing down his 48 inch very went too 38..and he became kobe in his prime….FORGET STATS….everyone gets fooled by era and the evolution of the game…kobes creativity wasn’t created in jordans era….Jordan didn’t get to update his software…so u take it all away……so now ask ur self who’s better…KOBEBLKMAMBA or KOBE/vince/westbrooke???? JORDAN is the G.O.A.T and KOBE is G.O.A.T of Hardwork

A photo posted by @g.i.l.b.e.r.t.a.r.e.n.a.s on Jul 29, 2015 at 3:44pm PDT

In the end, Agent Zero seems to favor the original model over version 2.0. As great as Bryant is, I find it difficult to fault his logic.

Still, it remains a discussion worthy of any hardwood knockaround and one that isn’t as easily solved as one might expect.