Kobe > MJ

Both of them are incredible basketball players. Their style is so similar that one can't help but to compare them, which one is the best. The truth is, they are equally good in my opinion. The only reason Kobe > MJ in my mind simply because Kobe is the icon I saw the making-of. When I started watching NBA games, MJ was already history. 

I have never seen MJ playing live. To me, he is basically a god. Epic stories surrounded him, praises and worships clouded him. He is an enigmatic figure, very distant, almost omnipotent. He and basketball are inseparable. He had inspired many basketball players including Kobe. Kobe himself even said so during many occasions. MJ is no doubt a legend.

On the other hand, Kobe is very real to me. I saw him and Shaq, the dynamic duo, three peats; I saw Lakers's fall after Shaq left; I saw Kobe's MVP season; I saw him becoming the scoring machine and the 81 points game; and I saw him winning his fourth and fifth rings. I saw him through the ups and downs, especially the downs. When Shaq left and Lakers performed terribly, I really thought Kobe was nothing without Shaq. Plus the sexual assault case, his career plummeted into the abyss. But he came back and proved everybody wrong. It is exactly his growth as a player, the bounce back, that makes him my favorite.

Like I said, people always compare him with MJ. It is truly unfair for Kobe. The thing is MJ became a legend first. While standing under MJ's shadow, the shadow of a giant, trying to shine is tough. In my opinion, Kobe had long out-shone and became a giant himself. Kobe had proved himself as a legend. Even so, he still plays with the kind of fire and hunger of 18 year-old Kobe. But now age is becoming the raising factor. It is just sad to see Kobe haunted by injuries in recent years.   

So Kobe or MJ? It doesn't matter. Making comparison is stupid. MJ is the legend of 1990's, Kobe is the legend of 2000's. For now, I can't see anybody able to carry on the torch. Nobody in the field now has the same kind of passion and fire as MJ's and Kobe's. Although Kobe's retirement hasn't been announced yet, it feels like it is coming soon. And when it happens, part of me will probably die.