Brendan Malone on who is better between Michael Jordan or LeBron: 'You're asking the wrong question'

Not many NBA coaches have seen both Michael Jordan and LeBron James up close and personally, unlike the late Brendan Malone. The father of current Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was Chuck Daly's deputy in Detroit and helped Daly formulate the 'Jordan Rules'.

In 2004, he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers as Paul Silas' assistant and was named interim head coach when Silas was fired in 2005. There, Malone coached a young LeBron James. After he became an assistant for Orlando and Detroit, he watched how James emerged as the best player in the NBA.

During the 2020 Western Conference Finals, Michael's team, the Denver Nuggets, faced LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers, and the older Malone was asked if coaches had created a 'Lebron Rules'.

"I don't think any coach in the NBA has come up with that answer yet," said Malone.

"He's probably the best player in the open court. He's so fast and strong going to the basket. He can finish. His best skill is passing. I would take away the drive, give him the 3-pointer, and if he goes to the basket, foul him because he's not a high-percentage free throw shooter."

Not better than Kobe

The 'Jordan Rules' were a set of defensive strategies that Daly and Malone created to limit the scoring damage that MJ would inflict on the Pistons. Mike was the biggest thorn in Detroit's side during the heated Pistons vs Bulls rivalry during the late 80s and early 90s

But Brendan clarified that having a manual on guarding LeBron doesn't necessarily mean he is a better player than Michael Jordan. In fact, Malone doesn't even think that King James tops the Black Mamba in the greatest of all-time conversation.

"People ask me who was better: Michael Jordan or LeBron?" continued Malone. "And I always say you're asking the wrong question. Who was better, Kobe Bryant or Michael? I would say LeBron is in the conversation of course. There's a lot of people who would put LeBron ahead of Kobe. And some would put LeBron ahead of Michael. I saw how competitive Michael was. LeBron is competitive but didn't come up to the level as Michael. And the guy closest to Michael in that sense is Kobe."

Iverson also put Kobe next to Mike in the debate

Like the late Pistons assistant coach, Sixers Hall of Famer Allen Iverson believes that Kobe was the only player to come closest to MJ in competitiveness. Although AI did not mention it in his argument, he put the Mamba right behind Mike on his all-time list.

"I've never seen nobody as competitive as him but Mike," Iverson said. "Like, when people talk about your favorite players or the best players in the world, I say Mike, and I say, Kobe, you know what I mean? And then everybody else."

When we talk about the GOAT, it's almost always Mike or LeBron. However, as coach Malone and Iverson both said, Kobe was the only player closest to matching Michael's competitive fire. Because of that, the late Lakers legend should be ranked behind MJ in the GOAT debate.