Top 40 Dunks: Michael Jordan vs. Kobe Bryant
No. 23 or No. 24?
The last time SLAM sat down and made an official “Greatest Dunkers of All Time” list, Kobe was No. 15 and Jordan was No. 2. But that was eight years ago.
This video doesn’t confirm or deny our assertion. It should be noted that the creator is a Kobe fan, but he’s not saying that Kobe is a better dunker than Michael or Michael is better than Kobe. He merely presents the evidence — the majority of the two’s greatest NBA dunks are here, and in good quality too — and asks, Who gave the rim more pain?
The similarities are striking, but this video highlights how drastically different the two were in the air. Kobe has more explosiveness, but Jordan has more hangtime and in-traffic pounds. You could feasibly pick any Jordan dunk to include in this list. Kobe has a smaller, but deadly, Hall of Fame. Watch the countdown and tell us: Were we right?
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No.1 is bogus..Kobe on Wallace was better..MJ on Ewing was better than both!
The dunks MJ had as a youngster look faster and smoother than Kobe at his best IMO.
27 by Kobe was also sweet. Never seen that before either. He gets both hands on the alley, even though the contact was minimal, still a great effort to get it.
21 by Jordan is awesome cos he teabags 43 on his swing haha.
9…what in the world is the second commenter saying on that dunk? wtf!
2 is a better dunk that 1, don’t think anyone can argue that. ‘This is an ego problem for Patrick Ewing’ = LOL!
Great overall video though.
I didn’t know VC was dead!
kobes dunks are spontaneous
mjs dunks were too repetative
kobes dunks are spontaneous no EJ Kobe just copies every dunk that Jordan ever made Kobe is just carbon copy of MJ
1) Hand size. This factor highly favors Jordan and explains his “maybe seemingly” less explosive style; it means he can “float/glide” around a bit more, controlling the ball’s direction more (pumps or change of directions) or keeping it in his hands for longer. So the “less explosive” style I think is more of a visual effect than Michale actually displaying/possessing less explosiveness.
2) Foot (and sometimes hand) ambidexterity. Off two-foot jumps, Michael almost always without fail jumps off his left foot. Kobe jumps off his right or left foot just as much. Jumping off the right foot also again gives the “illusion” of being more explosive, due to the mechanics and the physics involved. (Think Dominique Wilkins, who was also a two-foot off the right foot leaper, but almost exclusively). On a similar note, I have seen many more left-handed dunks from Kobe than from Michael.
3) One-foot leaper. Michael is probably the best one-foot/two-foot combo leaper in the history of the NBA. There are guys like Larry Nance, Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving and Lebron James (although I would classify the latter as more of a “power” one-foot leaper than a “floater/glider” one-foot leaper like the others) who were always better one-foot leapers, while the best “mostly” two-foot leapers that come to mind include Nique, Vince Carter, Shawn Kemp and Amare. Just my “long” two-cents
#1. Vince
#2. Dr. J
#3. Michael
#4. Dominique
#5. Shawn Kemp
#6. David Thompson
#7. Darryl Dawkins
#8. Kobe
#9. J-Rich
#10 Harold Minor
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