More qualified than anyone to answer MJ/Kobe questions, former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson gave his opinion on yet another debate recently.
Former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson had the privilege of coaching Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. During his tenures with L.A. and Chicago, Jackson led the teams to an impressive eleven combined titles.
Because he coached perhaps the best two shooting guards to ever lace them up, Jackson is more licensed than anyone to answer questions about them.
Granted Bryant vs. Jordan debates will never go away, the Zen Master recently settled one debate. Per Liesl Nielsen of KSL.com, Jackson thinks Jordan was far more “coachable” than Bryant ever was.
"“There was something coachable about Michael that Kobe didn’t have,” Jackson said while headlining Utah tech company Domo’s annual conference Wednesday. “But Kobe had an irrepressible fire.”"
While the two players were eerily similar, Jackson does raise an interesting point when comparing the two. The legendary coach’s comments suggest that Jordan may have been a slightly better leader. Even leaders must accept direction now and again, and it appears like Bryant did not accept wisdom as easily as MJ.
Phil Jackson on Michael Jordan vs. Kobe Bryant: There was something coachable about Michael that Kobe didn’t have. But Kobe had an irrepressible fire #dp18 pic.twitter.com/xZDR7xYJKz
— Liesl Nielsen (@liesl_nielsen) March 14, 2018
At the same time, this does reveal something mighty special about the Black Mamba. It is not to deny the genius of Jordan one bit, but Jackson’s comments imply that Bryant was never satisfied. If this is what Jackson is getting at, it says quite a bit about the former Laker’s competitive spirit.
That “irrepressible fire” makes sense, too, simply because Bryant entered the league well after Jordan established himself. Accordingly, a large part of that fire burned due to the former trying to emulate the one many deem the GOAT.
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In furtherance of this idea, Jackson elaborated on why he labels MJ as the more coachable player. Per Nielsen, Jackson said the former Bull was calmer whenever he sat on the bench.
"If Jackson took Jordan out of a game because he was ruining the offense by trying to score all the time, then Jordan would do better when he got back in.“He’d know what he’d done,” Jackson said. “He had a conscience.”Kobe, on the other hand, would stand next to him and incessantly ask if he could go back in. The Lakers’ player had an incredible competitiveness, Jackson said."
With Jackson giving that type of example, it is difficult to argue against the man. The example he provides illustrates that Jordan accepted constructive criticism better than the former Laker.
Although Michael may have been more of a thrill to coach, Jackson’s statement reveals a great deal about Kobe’s insatiable will.
The latter (not to say Jordan was not wired this way) was not a fan of nonsense. He did whatever it took to win in the grand scheme of things. Thus, even though Bryant may have had an even shorter fuse than His Airness, the job still got taken care of so very often.
The debates concerning Bryant and Jordan will probably never disappear. That is the cold hard truth. Said fact aside, though, anytime Jackson sheds light on the two is a time when total silence occurs.
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In this case, the coach’s comments exhibit that the two are different than many realize. Albeit their playing styles were nearly identical, Jackson’s analysis signifies that not every single aspect about them is alike.