Former NBA point guard argues that Michael Jordan and ’90s defense is overrated.
Speaking on his podcast this week, former NBA point guard Gilbert Arenas sparked the latest wave of outrage when he suggested that defense in the 1990s was highly overrated. According to Agent Zero, the lack of defensive capabilities in the 90s era created the perfect recipe for a guy like Jordan to succeed.
“If you took Kobe Bryant, and you put him on that Bulls team? Just take Jordan out, put Kobe on that team, Kobe’s averaging 45-50 for the season,” Arenas explained. Contrary to Gil’s claim, 90s basketball is often considered tougher and more aggressive than today’s version of the game. Even so, Arenas is not convinced that Jordan faced the same challenges that Bryant did during his prime.
“They ain’t no defense there. There was no defense. I’m sorry,” said Arenas. “There was no defense. Y’all couldn’t shoot the ball to put it in the basket. That was the difference. Like Jordan was a great shooter. He could shoot the ball. So when he got to his spot, it was cash money. Everybody else, stop. Y’all didn’t shoot the ball well, there was no threat.”
By the time Michael Jordan retired in 1998, he had nothing left to prove in the NBA. As a 12x All-Star, 5x MVP, and 6x Champion after his final title win, MJ was considered the GOAT in the eyes of many. But it didn’t take long for new players to challenge that title, and Kobe was among them.
Kobe Bryant And The ’90s Bulls
Early in his career, Bryant played as more of a sidekick than the main superstar. By the time his career was over, however, Kobe was a decorated NBA veteran with 18 All-Star appearances, 5 championship rings, and 15 All-NBA selections. Despite the rapidly evolving NBA landscape around him, Bryant found amazing success with his highest-scoring season ever coming in the 2005-2006 campaign when he averaged 35.4 points against top-tier defenders such as Tony Allen and the Grind City Grizzlies, future Lakers teammate Ron Artest, and 2x All-Defensive player Andre Iguodala. Compare that to some of Jordan’s rivals, like the Bad Boy Pistons in the late 80s and the Barkley-led Suns, and an argument can be made that Kobe could have thrived in Jordan’s shoes.
Since Bryant played in a modernized version of the league, it’s hard to say how his NBA career would have fared during the ’90s era, but he would have achieved favorable results alongside Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, and the greatest coach in league history (Phil Jackson). Even so, surpassing Jordan’s seamless 6-0 Finals record would no doubt prove to be difficult, and averaging 40-50 points in a season would be even more unlikely considering nobody has come close to the feat since Jordan himself put up 37 a game in 1987.
Michael Jordan Beats Kobe Bryant As NBA’s Top Scorer
On paper, Kobe Bryant looks like the better scorer, considering he’s fourth place on the all-time scoring list, but Jordan was much more efficient during his career. In 15 years in the NBA, MJ shot 49.7% from the field, as opposed to Bryant, who was down to 44.7% after 20 seasons. While it is true that Bryant excelled at making tougher shots, the sheer volume of attempts made it impossible for him not to put up big numbers.
Conversely, Jordan maintained astounding efficiency throughout his career and utilized his mid-range expertise to make him nearly unguardable on the court. To this day, Jordan still ranks near the top of the field when it comes to mid-range shot-making.
Of course, we know that Jordan was a direct inspiration for Kobe, and it’s a fact that the Lakers legend incorporated many of his idols’ moves into his own basketball repertoire. It’s for that reason that Kobe still remains the closest player we’ve seen to Jordan himself, but the jury is still out on where exactly he falls in the ranks of NBA history. For now, most of us can agree that he still falls behind no. 23 (and others), considering all he said and done throughout his career.
