Tuesday, August 28th, 2012 at 5:18 pm  |  120 responses

Kobe Bryant vs Michael Jordan: Identical Plays (VIDEO)

Kobe may have picked up a move or two… or more… from the GOAT.

Since Michael Jordan hung up his sneakers, Kobe Bryant has produced the game and skill set most similar to Air Jordan. But I don’t think anybody realized it was this similar. Check out the video to see some stunning MJ/Kobe similarities on the floor.

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  • http://twitter.com/Lacville_79 Back Of My Lac

    MJ was Kobe’s idol growing up so OF Course he patterned his game after MJ…..I never had a problem with it……..If you was a Teen in the 90′s like I was MJ was the person you looked up to if you played basketball..

  • shawnkemp4prez

    Must we compare these two every week? Both are phenomenal, once-in-a-generation talents. Prime Michael vs Prime Kobe vs Prime Lebron vs Prime Oscar Robertson….these hypotheticals need to stop. Bill Russell has ELEVEN rings, maybe he should be in this discussion, too. It can go on and on…

  • Dagger

    I stopped listening 31 seconds in. Hyperbolic statements about Kobe’s skill, or his career, exceeding Michael’s are so 2006. Does anyone really believe that nonsense anymore?

  • lanomac

    wow thats some crazy ish

  • airs

    although most of these were just routine jumpshots set to dramatic music that im sure many other players have made in the NBA, that was kind of interesting to watch.
    well kind of.

  • Jer dawg

    I like it! I do like how these media types are talking and hyping Lebron as possibly being better than Jordan. Now it makes them more idiotic than ever. I always felt Kobe is almost splitting image of Jordan, but it’s better now not hearing it from the media. People Will debate after Kobe hangs it up. Then i HOPE there will only be 2 players on the pantheon of ELITE: Jordan and Bryant. Just my opinion. I’m not old enough to remember the 50s

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Who didn’t MJ influence in the late 80s and throughout all of the 90s? We need to remember that Kobe was in Italy for a chunk of his childhood. His grandparents sent him Cosby Show tapes and MJ games. He patterned his game after him. When he got back to Philly, I’m sure acting like an Italian kid wasn’t the best thing for a young Black kid to do. So it’s plausible that he figured since he didn’t grow up in Philly really or in the U.S. period, he’d mimic the guy he admired. Also, plenty of people tried to pattern their games after MJ I’m sure…only one was halfway successful.

  • http://twitter.com/SupermanayrB B!

    Move would be dumb not to learn a move or 12 from Mike. That’s like being a backup dancer for MIchael Jackson & not being able to Moonwalk.

  • OTB

    Kobe didn’t idolize MJ, he idolized Magic. Also, and this is a general comment, but there was nothing “identical” about the video. Both were using moves reacting to the defense. Sure, Kobe has some of the that MJ does, but I’m sure you can find Michael Finley, Jerry Stackhouse, Vince Carter, T-Mac, etc with the exact same moves if you look hard enough for it. Lastly, Kobe has some moves in his repotoire offensively that MJ didn’t have (and vice versa). Let’s just conclude that they are both offensive wizards and leave it at that.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    blah blah blah
    - Kobe Bryant on the Dan Patrick Show “there is no Kobe Bryant without Michael Jordan”

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    how anyone can watch Kobe Bryant throughout his career and not see that he obviously patterned his game after Michael Jordan is beyond me. — Maybe Michael wasn’t his favorite player, but he definitely patterned his game after him. Which isn’t a bad thing, its obviously served him well.

  • VanCityBBall

    if i were Kobe i wouldnt try to be like MJ that much… at the end of his career he should try to be the only Kobe Bryant not the guy that came close to being MJ or better… im not saying that he shouldnt watch tapes and take some notes but i think it would be better this way

  • brian scalabrine

    they had the same coach and ran the same offense. therefore they are guna get the ball in similar spots. if anyone played in this scenario they would end up making alot of the same moves

  • GRAD

    NO I THINK KOBE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT MADE THE SAME SHOTS AS MIKE…. TRUE SOME PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE MADE ONE OR TWO BUT KOBE MADE THEM ALL….. AND HE KNOWINGLY MADE THEM THE OTHA PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE MADE THEM MIGHT DIDNT EVEN KNOW THE WERE STANDIN IN JORDANS SPOT, BUT KOBE DID…

  • LakeShow

    It is interesting how Kobe has been the only player to successfully mimic Michael.
    It’s only been a decade or so since Mike left though so we will see more ‘like Mike’.
    Question is, will someone become more like mike than Kobe?

  • Slick Ric

    *Sigh*

  • OTB

    I understand that. Obviously, he mimicked some of his moves and patterned his game after him as he grew older, but I wouldn’t call their repetoires identical. A lot of players have fadeaway jumpshots, and use similar footwork.

  • OTB

    And actually, there’s a video of Kobe that used to be on NBA.com where he talked about how he took moves from guys like Jerry West, Oscar, Hakeem, to MJ. His moves-list is a composite of a lot of players, but it mostly focuses on MJ (and rightly so).

  • Red Star

    Anyone who doesn’t think Kobe based his game on Jordan’s is a fool! Google Kobe wearing a Jordan jersey. LMFAO, Kobe has broken Jordan’s game down to a science!

  • TNDO

    Kobe has that mean streak that nobody else has had since Jordan.
    Kobe has always been comPared to
    Jordan becuz he is the only one at this point that really deserves it
    For now ( Lbj )

  • Poster_boy

    That was just a video showing them taking jump shots from the same spots on the floor.

  • Redd

    lollll

  • Redd

    That’s the thing Jordan will influence the next wave of superstars still with what he did and his Jordan Brand success, he’s rooted himself into basketball. Kobe will never accomplish the same to that degree.

  • OTB

    Exactly my point. You can find plenty of shooting guards doing the same thing if you look hard enough. Their body movements weren’t similar at all – each has their own distinct style. Kobe has a lot of MJ’s moves, but I wouldn’t call his rep. “identical”.

  • OTB

    Not sure what’s funny. He’s stated in numerous interviews he idolized Magic growing up. He patterned his game after Jordan cause Jordan had his body type/playing style, but that video shows nothing about “identical” moves, it shows two players taking jumpshots from similar areas on the floor. Again, I agree that Kobe has a lot of Jordan’s moves, but this video is not really conclusive that they are “identical”. Bryant has a lot of moves that are quite distinguished from anything MJ did. I’m not saying that as a knock or a comparison, I’m saying it to establish the uniqueness of the two players.

  • Max

    There will never ever be another Scalabrine
    That’s for sure, you can book that if you want to.
    MJ+Kobe = SCAL
    He wears MJ’s jersey and Kobe’s number at the same time.

  • Matisse

    I can imagine the future crop of players that are going to have the same aesthetic similarities as Bean Bryant. They’ll have the excessive jab steps, pump fakes, head fakes, the penchant to heave fadeaway after fadeaway over triple teams, ( and actually nailing some of those impossible shots) hell, even that stupid jaw face that Kobe does every once in a while will be mimicked.

  • The Seed

    Kobe has had the best career to me since MJ, with winning, flare for the dramatics, heartbreak and Rings. Like MJ stated Kobe is comparable. People don’t understand, MJ loves Kobe game and they talk all the time. Kobe has done alot in this league and is still going. I can’t wait for him to get 6th then the WORLD will go CRAZY!!

  • Redd

    Kobe tried to copy what Jordan did in about every way, but he wanted to do it even better which u have to respect. Too bad he didn’t though.

  • Redd

    Um no…he’ll have won with 3 other all-stars(2 superstars), his comparison is no longer valid to MJ.

  • Ugh

    Saying Kobe is a better shooter than Michael is pretty ridiculous. Kobe’s three has been more consistent across his career, but his shot selection is woeful. Bleacher Report has a good article on comparing their shot efficiency.

  • http://twitter.com/_DFrance DFrance

    I doubt it. Kobe has it ALL down. Not just the skills on the court, but the walk, the way he talks in interviews. Its really uncanny.

  • Cluna

    Kobe obviously patterned his game after MJ and many other great players ( west, Baylor, Oscar to name a few) since when is it frowned upon to progressively improve your game year after year. At 34, kobe will be doing things incomparable by anyone to EVER play the game. Love em or hate em Kobe is the best player Of his generation since Mj.. Stop thinking Kobe’s career will somehow diminish MJ’s accomplishments

  • theDankerNuggets

    This isn’t that crazy when you take into account that they had the same coach and same offense

  • http://twitter.com/ec_lkhaa Will Lee

    thats why they need a better offense!

  • flea

    It’s debatable weather MJ’s offensive skill set was superior to Kobe’s in “every way” for example: footwork, and ability to create, specifically from mid range and beyond. I think lazy fans tend to just lump “everything” Kobe has done in his career as mere mimicry. The skills i mentioned above not only stand out as major aspects of kobe’s game throughout his career, but are also areas were he has put his own mark, and will leave an imprint on the game as a whole.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Tim Duncan is the best player since MJ.

  • Kadavour

    What?? Money won rings with Pip and Worm. Two of the greatest defenders of All Time. They had the ability to cover all positions defensively. Rodman averaged 18 REBS in a season. Pip is the quintessential glue guy and probably the best two way player ever. It’s intellectually dishonest to diminish the abilities of these men and the importance of their contributions to some of those championship teams for the sake of an argument against Kobe’s legacy.

  • Redd

    Only Rodman was traded in, how many all stars did Kobe get traded in? Same thing u guys were saying about LBJ.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003136871444 Ito Murakami

    dope video. http://wesellblow.com/
    Instagram: @wesellblow
    Twitter: @blow_clothing @wesellblow
    http://www.facebook.com/pages/BLOW/410902185612501

  • shucky_ducky

    yeah, stay away from plays at the rim, cuz there’s no comparison. MJ all day. But Kobe did a great job at ripping his game

  • Caboose

    This was utterly pathetic. SLAM, it’s disgraceful to put up something this biased. C’mon, Kobe is not close to MJ. You guys know that.

  • Cluna

    KObe has outgrown all his rivals.. Is Duncan even considered a top 10 PF anymore? Let’s be real

  • JaeRod tha Prince

    Hip Hop fans. Don’t miss this! http://youtu.be/oWgBW1MI7oQ

  • datkid

    explain. lol.

  • datkid

    they play in the same system w/ the sane coach. plus some of those moves are things every scorer does. i don’t see it, personally.

  • Flight

    I remember when Kobe won his fourth in 09 that Jordans own kids were tweeting that Kobe celebrated like MJ did in 92 by jumping on the scorers table…to me when you have Jordans own children riled up you are pulling on the cape. In the next 2 seasons Kobe will win two more rings and score another 3500 points to surpass Jordan in regular season points aswell as All-star points, playoff points, and rings. Then this argument will finally be put to rest and Jordan will prove prophetic when he said in 98 “Evolution knows no bounds, in time there will be a player far greater then me”.

  • wes

    People are always saying Tim Duncan is the best player of the 2000′s or the best since Mike but uh Kobe has more rings and better stats than Kobe

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    Not saying they are identical, but nobody has ever played as similarly to (mainly after 1st retirement) Michalel Jordan. Calling them identical is ridiculous, but Kobe’s game is definitely based on Jordan’s. Which is of course, not a bad player to mimmick.

  • Drig

    I don’t honestly see it. While they managed to put up the shots from similar locations over similar defenders, the style is different for both of them :

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