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Some cool bits on Phil Jackson's new book comparing Jordan to Bryant
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by Final Bosa,
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Phil basically just called Kobe a wannabe who wasn't nowhere near as good as a basketball player or a teammate
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Phil writing that beating the Celtics in 2010 was his favorite title is stunning to me. I would have guessed it would have been his first title with the Bulls or when Michael returned to win in 96.
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I was thinking the same, but it was his only 7 games series in the finals, and it was his last. Sort of makes sense.
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Phil Jackson book: MJ more charismatic than Kobe
FOX SPORTS WEST STAFF | Published: Thursday, May 16, 2013
Perhaps Los Angeles would prefer not to be reminded of this detail, but before he was theirs, Phil Jackson belonged — in the sense that any coach can belong, at least – to Chicago. He was the Bulls coach of the storied 1990s, winning six NBA championship rings. He was Michael Jordan's coach.
Before Kobe Bryant. Before the next five championships. Before he became Jeanie Buss's boyfriend and then fiancé, thereby a member of the highest echelon of Lakers society. Before all that, he had a bigger star. He had the best.
In his new book, "Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success," which he co-wrote with Hugh Delehanty and will be available in stores on Tuesday, Jackson looks back over his career in a big way, and one of the narratives that arises is that of a comparison: MJ vs. Kobe. They were his two biggest stars, his two biggest personalities, perhaps, and Jackson will be remembered as much for them as he is for his style of coaching and success.
The Los Angeles Times, which received an advance copy of the book, wrote Thursday in detail on the Jordan-Bryant comparison, with excerpts culled from Jackson's memoir:
"Michael was more charismatic and gregarious than Kobe," Jackson writes. "He loved hanging out with his teammates and security guards, playing cards, smoking cigars, and joking around.
"Kobe is different. He was reserved as a teenager, in part because he was younger than the other players and hadn't developed strong social skills in college. When Kobe first joined the Lakers, he avoided fraternizing with his teammates. But his inclination to keep to himself shifted as he grew older. Increasingly, Kobe put more energy into getting to know the other players, especially when the team was on the road."
Some other differences Jackson notes are the differences in the two players' defensive skills and accuracy. No surprise — Jordan comes out on top.
"No question, Michael was a tougher, more intimidating defender," Jackson writes. "He could break through virtually any screen and shut down almost any player with his intense, laser-focused style of defense."
"In general, Kobe tends to rely more heavily on his flexibility and craftiness, but he takes a lot of gambles on defense and sometimes pays the price."
"Jordan was also more naturally inclined to let the game come to him and not overplay his hand, whereas Kobe tends to force the action, especially when the game isn't going his way. When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns. Michael, on the other hand, would shift his attention to defense or passing or setting screens to help the team win the game."
And perhaps the comparison that speaks the loudest about Jordan — and may throw Kobe into a rage — is this one:
"One of the biggest differences between the two stars from my perspective was Michael's superior skills as a leader," Jackson writes. "Though at times he could be hard on his teammates, Michael was masterful at controlling the emotional climate of the team with the power of his presence. Kobe had a long way to go before he could make that claim. He talked a good game, but he'd yet to experience the cold truth of leadership in his bones, as Michael had."
The Times story also revealed a few more nuggets from the book:
* Jackson's interest in Zen picked up after he met a practicing construction worker who helped build his house in the 1970s.
* Jackson's words to Jordan after he showed up in the coach's office in 1995 hoping to return to basketball after a failed attempt at a baseball career: "Well, I think we've got a uniform here that might fit you."
* Jackson's daughter, Brooke, had been the victim of sexual assault by an athlete in college, and when the Bryant situation occurred, it "triggered all my unprocessed anger and tainted my perception of him," Jackson said.
* Jackson considers the Lakers' Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals the most satisfying of his career.
FOX SPORTS WEST STAFF | Published: Thursday, May 16, 2013
Perhaps Los Angeles would prefer not to be reminded of this detail, but before he was theirs, Phil Jackson belonged — in the sense that any coach can belong, at least – to Chicago. He was the Bulls coach of the storied 1990s, winning six NBA championship rings. He was Michael Jordan's coach.
Before Kobe Bryant. Before the next five championships. Before he became Jeanie Buss's boyfriend and then fiancé, thereby a member of the highest echelon of Lakers society. Before all that, he had a bigger star. He had the best.
In his new book, "Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success," which he co-wrote with Hugh Delehanty and will be available in stores on Tuesday, Jackson looks back over his career in a big way, and one of the narratives that arises is that of a comparison: MJ vs. Kobe. They were his two biggest stars, his two biggest personalities, perhaps, and Jackson will be remembered as much for them as he is for his style of coaching and success.
The Los Angeles Times, which received an advance copy of the book, wrote Thursday in detail on the Jordan-Bryant comparison, with excerpts culled from Jackson's memoir:
"Michael was more charismatic and gregarious than Kobe," Jackson writes. "He loved hanging out with his teammates and security guards, playing cards, smoking cigars, and joking around.
"Kobe is different. He was reserved as a teenager, in part because he was younger than the other players and hadn't developed strong social skills in college. When Kobe first joined the Lakers, he avoided fraternizing with his teammates. But his inclination to keep to himself shifted as he grew older. Increasingly, Kobe put more energy into getting to know the other players, especially when the team was on the road."
Some other differences Jackson notes are the differences in the two players' defensive skills and accuracy. No surprise — Jordan comes out on top.
"No question, Michael was a tougher, more intimidating defender," Jackson writes. "He could break through virtually any screen and shut down almost any player with his intense, laser-focused style of defense."
"In general, Kobe tends to rely more heavily on his flexibility and craftiness, but he takes a lot of gambles on defense and sometimes pays the price."
"Jordan was also more naturally inclined to let the game come to him and not overplay his hand, whereas Kobe tends to force the action, especially when the game isn't going his way. When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns. Michael, on the other hand, would shift his attention to defense or passing or setting screens to help the team win the game."
And perhaps the comparison that speaks the loudest about Jordan — and may throw Kobe into a rage — is this one:
"One of the biggest differences between the two stars from my perspective was Michael's superior skills as a leader," Jackson writes. "Though at times he could be hard on his teammates, Michael was masterful at controlling the emotional climate of the team with the power of his presence. Kobe had a long way to go before he could make that claim. He talked a good game, but he'd yet to experience the cold truth of leadership in his bones, as Michael had."
The Times story also revealed a few more nuggets from the book:
* Jackson's interest in Zen picked up after he met a practicing construction worker who helped build his house in the 1970s.
* Jackson's words to Jordan after he showed up in the coach's office in 1995 hoping to return to basketball after a failed attempt at a baseball career: "Well, I think we've got a uniform here that might fit you."
* Jackson's daughter, Brooke, had been the victim of sexual assault by an athlete in college, and when the Bryant situation occurred, it "triggered all my unprocessed anger and tainted my perception of him," Jackson said.
* Jackson considers the Lakers' Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals the most satisfying of his career.
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If anyone can has any credibility in comparing MJ and Kobe it would be him......but I can't but feel bad for Kobe.....the timing of this is terrible, dude is out right before his team makes the playoffs with a potentially career ending injury, probably not the best time to release stuff like this.
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This is the kind of stuff Kobe thrives off, though.
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So Jordan is better than Kobe 
There needs to be a official Jordan, Kobe and Lebron thread.
There needs to be a official Jordan, Kobe and Lebron thread.
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did he compare Jordan to Lebron? Or Kobe to Lebron?
need answers now cant wait.
need answers now cant wait.
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I guess it has something to do with him overtaking Red's record.
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I was thinking it was also because of losing to them in 2008. I know that made it more intense for me.
darthska
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But then there would be no need in other threads for Kobe stans to post about Kobe's greatness & how overrated Bron & MJ are, Bron stans to post about Bron's greatness and how overrated Kobe & MJ are, MJ stans to post about MJ's greatness and how overrated Bron & Kobe are.There needs to be a official Jordan, Kobe and Lebron thread.
There would be no need for folks like ACBoyz, Xta, or *insert every MJ stan who stays putting Bron or Kobe down* to post anywhere else, except that thread.
Hmmmmmm...
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So, forcing more shots?
Seems like a real interesting read. Nothing too surprising on the Jordan/Kobe front though. It's what most already know or Kobe fans are unwilling to admit.
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Now Kobe stans can shut the hell up. The lone authority on this has spoken.
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Sometimes that's true, yeah. And then there are other times where he kills the other team, like when Cuban said he should be amnestied, or when he went off to get the scoring record in MGS. He'll always work even harder if he's called out, though. Can't say that about everyone.
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I don't see anything in his quotes that are particularly damning to Kobe
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didnt know that about his daughter. 
he must of wanted to kill kobe
he must of wanted to kill kobe
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I just looked at some of Mike's playoff PPG averages.... w t f man
w t f man 
sonoftony
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I know
, but it gives it strong validity. I know what I saw with my eyes watching Mike. Kobe doesn't match it. He's great, but not on Mike's level. I don't understand how people do not understand this, I kind of do for younger fans who might not remember Mike as well, but for those in my age range (31) to say this is just crazy. One edge Mike had was he never slacked on the opportunity to **** on you. He'd do it as often as he can just for GP to let you know who he is. We never got that from Kobe. As much as I hated watching the Bulls (I was a Knick fan when I was younger) you couldn't deny Mike ALWAYS wanted to embarass and demoralize you. He truly understood how to mentally break you down as an opponent.
darthska
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Nothing Phil said is particularly damaging to Kobe, but that's not what Kobe stans are going to argue. Once the thread gets a few more replies and people say a few things that Kobe stans can quote and argue...
... Heeeere weeeeeeee goooooo.
... Heeeere weeeeeeee goooooo.
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yeeupp
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phil is just mad at kobe because of some nonsense.. SMH
JOKING
JOKING
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He says Jordan is a better leader and is better at defense than Kobe. Hasn't this already been established?
The article says nothing about offensive skills, of which Phil has already asserted that Kobe possesses more of than Jordan.
The article says nothing about offensive skills, of which Phil has already asserted that Kobe possesses more of than Jordan.
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He did? Guess I missed that. I still rely on my eyeballs on that aspect too.