I recently heard a good point made in this never-ending comparison of Kobe with Jordan - if Jordan came after Kobe, would Jordan be compared to Kobe as Kobe is being compared to Jordan? Or would Jordan be automatically made the better of the two because of his supposed all-round skills?

I know you cannot compare two players from different eras, but still, if you have to compare, would Jordan be compared to Kobe?

And a second angle to this whole thing is that Kobe has always been hated by general public. They just don’t get him and he does not do anything to improve that image/reputation. Just like Barry Bonds, Kobe likes to stay aloof and mind his own business. But because of the stories that he drove Phil Jackson, Shaq and chances of another championship out of LA and of course because of his Colorado experience, his reputation is quite low today.

But Jordan’s reputation was not spotless either - there were rumors that he had some issues in his life which made him leave basketball and start playing baseball, there were some betting issues, etc. But that did not dent his reputation much, did it? Why give him some special treatment and kick Kobe to the curb?