Getty Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan talk during a free-throw attempt.
The debate of who is better between Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan will never end. It will be one of those debates that will be argued until the cows come home. Something that adds fuel to these types of discussions is getting opinions from players that had the opportunity to face Jordan in his prime and Bryant heading into his prime.
Isaiah Rider is someone that had the opportunity to face both Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan during his NBA career. He even was Bryant’s teammate at one time; they won a championship together during the 2000-01 season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
In an interview with GoRadioMN on April 12, 2017, Rider was asked who is better. Rider replied, “I give Kobe props. I think he came in young, and he and Eddie Jones were on the Lakers together. They were playing together for 3-4 years, and they wouldn’t want to see me. Kobe grew up, took over the league,” said Rider.” I give him props. From the age of 18 until the age of 22, he was learning his way; he was raw. That is the nicest 18-year-old I ever played against, and I was 24 or 25 at that time.”
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In 1996, Kobe Bryant got his first taste of what it was like to play against Michael Jordan during his rookie season. According to Bryant, the first time he squared off against MJ was shocking and more than what he expected.
“I’ve seen him pure wet away from the screen so many times, and every time I saw, [I thought] ‘I’m gonna f- that one, just force him over the screen,” Bryant says in the clip. “Sure as s-, he leaned down like he was going over the screen, and the s- looked so believable. It really did, I thought he was going over the screen.”
“There’s no way that motherf**** spun so fast baseline, [that] he was dunking the ball before I knew what the hell happened,” said Bryant.
“I was 18, and I was, like, ‘Oh, s-, that was pretty f-in’ cool,’” Bryant shared. “And then, running back down the court, he was like, ‘A lot faster in person, isn’t it?”
Kobe Bryant remembers the first encounter with Michael Jordan in his rookie season which is a welcome to the NBA moment,
-That m–f– spun so fast baseline and dunked the ball.
Jordan back down the court says,
-Lot faster in person isn’t it?
(Full Video: t.co/o09gSdDcVI)
Bryant grew up idolizing Jordan and would later emulate his every move down to the way the Bulls’ legend would walk to sticking out his tongue on the court.
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Isaiah Rider Details his Matchups Against Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant