In the wake of Michael Jordan‘s 50th birthday, there’s been a lot of NBA talk comparing His Airness, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and their place in the history of basketball. Well, now Bryant, himself, is weighing in with his opinion.
On Wednesday, Bryant sat down for an interview with ESPN Radio Los Angeles (compiled here by Sports Radio Interviews) where he touched on numerous subjects, including the passing of Lakers owner Jerry Buss and Dwight Howard‘s place in the offense. However, it’s his comments on comparisons between him and James that will likely attract the most attention.
“Is he as good as me?” said Bryant on the Mason & Ireland show. “I mean every time you start comparing players to some of the all-time greats then you have to put him in that same room.”
So, there are a couple of interesting nuggets in there. For one, Bryant automatically assumed himself as one of the game’s all-time greats — which, granted, is probably accurate. But saying that James is “in that same room” as himself will probably draw some notice for perhaps being dismissive.
Is that how Bryant meant his comments? Who knows, but his opinion on James will undoubtedly make some headlines.
