Experts believed 24-year-old Kobe was better than Jordan at the same age: 'He's more creative, more agile, more stuff when he gets in the air'

It's no secret that Kobe Bryant patterned a lot of his game from Michael Jordan. Many basketball fans today see the "Black Mamba" as "MJ Lite," which roughly means he was never as good as Mike despite playing a similar style. Back in 2002, however, basketball pundits Jack Ramsay, Stu Lantz, and Sam Smith believed 24-year-old Bean was every bit as good and, in some respects, even better than Jordan.

"I do," Lantz straightforwardly answered when asked if Kob' was better than Mike at age 24. "I think all around, he's better. All the different facets that go into the game, I think Kobe is at a higher level at this point than Mike was."

"He started at a disadvantage obviously, but he's quickly regained his pace," Ramsay said, commenting about Kobe's early entry into the league at 18 years old. "I think Kobe's learning process is probably better and more accelerated than Michael. Sam (Smith) mentioned that he's not as ferocious at the basket, but I think he's more creative, he's more agile, and he has more stuff when he gets in the air."

Providing additional context

At the time of the interview, the Lower Merion high school star had two championships and was on his way to a third. He was in his seventh year, so at 24, he's already a seasoned vet. On the other hand, "The Black Cat" entered the league at 21 after three years in North Carolina. They may be more or less the same aesthetically, but KB and MJ excelled in two different (but connected) eras under two different circumstances.

"I think he's (Kobe) playing against tougher defenses with the zone defense being implemented, double, triple teams, and he doesn't have too many shooters to go along with him. I think he's doing very, very well," Ramsey, an NBA champion coach, stated.

As Dr. Jack noted, the NBA allowed zone defenses at the start of the 2001-02 season. That made it tougher for individuals like Bryant to score as defenders could pack the paint and create a wall to prevent penetrations. In Jordan's heyday, playing zone was a form of illegal defense because that would mean one defender was not "actively guarding" an offensive player. This made life easier for MJ to take on defenders one-on-one, a part of his game that's basically flawless.

Thus, even though Mike averaged almost 10 points more than Kobe in their age-24 seasons, Ramsey still believes "Showboat" was better and more advanced.

The Shaq dilemma

In the middle of the discussion, Smith, the author of the book Jordan Rules, raised a fascinating question: What if Jordan played with a dominant low-post player such as Shaquille O'Neal like Kobe did? Would he have developed into the same scoring monster as he was?

Of course, no one will ever know the answer, but that's another cap on Kobe's feather. In the 2000-01 season, the 18-time All-Star averaged 28.5 points playing alongside the "Big Diesel" and followed that up with 25.2 points per game. MJ never had to adjust his style of play that way, while Kobe learned to bring the ball up and facilitate the offense to fit in with Shaq.

In the end, Bryant fell one championship short of the Chicago Bulls legend's record and earned just one MVP award compared to Jordan's five. He lost two Finals series in seven appearances, while MJ never lost a series on the biggest stage. Career-wise, "His Airness" trumps Kobe's body of work. When it came to skills, however, the late great may just have developed his game from top to bottom better than "Black Cat" ever did.