Kobe Bryant might be retired, but he’s still at the top of his trash talk game.
With the way Cleveland railroaded Toronto last week, a lot was made about LeBron James and just how good he can be when he’s playing his best basketball. Such a performance — one in which we dubbed it LeBronto — has once again sparked a larger debate about whether he’s better than Michael Jordan.
It’s not a new debate, instead, it’s one that crops up whenever we have nothing else to talk about. The debate is the ultimate fallback plan, but it’s rare that we dedicate actual weekday airtime and thought-out think pieces devoted to figuring it all out.
Lost in the shuffle is Kobe Bryant. He’s the center of the Venn Diagram, existing at the end of Jordan’s career and the beginning of LeBron’s. He’s never mentioned in the debate about who the G.O.A.T. is, but leave it to Black Mamba to slither into the middle of it.
He’s usually not this outwardly passive-aggressive, but Kobe is trying to remind us of where he stands in the LeBron vs. MJ debate.
Notice he didn’t insert himself above MJ. Kobe has long had respect for a guy he very clearly modeled his career after and is perhaps secure enough in his legacy to not tussle with that.
Comparing himself to LeBron, however, is entirely different. Perhaps Kobe does see himself as better than Michael, but he’s smart enough to never say it publically. Similar feelings are not felt about LeBron, as made clear here.
It’s a debate we’ll never have with the passion or vigor that we do the LeBron vs. MJ one, but Kobe’s place in all of this shouldn’t be lost. If for no other reason that he won’t let us forget it.