Does Kobe Bryant Have A Case Against Michael Jordan As Best Shooting Guard Ever?

Shandel Richardson | Jun 2, 2024

December 17, 1997; Chicago, IL;Chicago's Michael Jordan (23), bottom, is guarded by LA's Kobe Bryant (8) in the second half. Mandatory Credit: Anne Ryan-USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY-USA TODAY NETWORK

Michael Jordan is generally considered the best player in NBA history, which makes him the No. 1 shooting guard as well.

The consensus is Kobe Bryant ranks second followed by Dwyane Wade. But is that truly the case?

Former NBA player Gilbert Arena recently made the debate for Bryant
during an appearance on his podcast. Arenas broke down the competition the two played against in their careers.

He said Jordan faced the likes of a young Bryant, a young Allen Iverson, Reggie Miller, Mitch Richmond and Clyde Drexler. Bryant's competition included Jordan, Iverson, Ray Allen, James Harden and Dwyane Wade (it should be noted Jordan faced a young Ray Allen, too).

"Kobe played against the most talented shooting guards in NBA history," Arenas said. "Jordan only played against, in the Top 10, a young Kobe, a young Iverson. Kobe played against Jordan, AI, Dwyane Wade, Ray Allen, he played against James Harden. He played against the most talented shooting guards the game has ever seen."

Bryant often gets left out of the G.O.A.T debate that is usually reserved for Jordan and LeBron James. Bryant has five titles compared to Jordan's six but he is mostly penalized because three of his rings came while playing alongside the dominant Shaquille O'Neal.

Still, Bryant has one championship than James, Arenas makes some good points but it is doubtful anyone from the 1980s or 1990s or even 2000s era puts Bryant ahead of Jordan.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com