“Michael Jordan probably would’ve been fighting some of his teammates” - Matt Barnes compares LeBron James’ leadership style to Jordan and Kobe Bryant after the Lakers fail to reach the playoffs
With the LA Lakers eliminated from playoff contention, former NBA player Matt Barnes took time to compare the leadership styles of Michael Jordan, lebron-james' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>lebron-james?ref=homepage" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">LeBron James and bryant' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>kobe-bryant" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Kobe Bryant.
In the conversation about the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan and LeBron James are the names that many people chose as their GOAT.
Since James went to LA, the comparisons between him and Lakers legend Kobe have become more common.
Now that the Lakers are out of the playoffs and James sat out the elimination game, Barnes talked about his leadership during ESPN's "NBA Today:"
"So, I feel like what makes LeBron great – he's always been knocked, 'Oh, he's not a killer' – he'll make the right pass, and I've always loved that.
"But I also think that sometimes that hurts him, because – not saying, I've never had him as a leader, and I am sure he has his ways of particularly leading this team – but I know for a fact if (Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan) saw some of the effort and energy that he saw from his teammates this year, it would have been an issue."
Of Bryant's and Jordan's leadership styles, Barnes said:
"You look at someone like Kobe Bryant, when I've seen him personally get in people's faces and just cuss them out until they're damn near in tears, and they're grown men. You know, Michael Jordan probably would have been fighting his teammates if he had to see some of the stuff that these guys do."
Jordan and Bryant were notoriously hard on their teammates even in the later years of their careers. But James does not have that same reputation.
Matt Barnes' colleague on Kobe Bryant at the end of his career
Despite criticism of his leadership, LeBron James is having one of his most productive offensive seasons. His current pace of 30.4 points per game is comparable to Jordan's at the beginning of his prime.
Players to average 30 PPG, 8 RPG, 6 APG while shooting over 50% from the field in a season:
Michael Jordan (88-89) at 25 years old
LeBron James (21-22) at 37 years old
Pretty wild 👀 https://t.co/dVxpbW6cSW
ESPN host Malika Andrews discussed Kobe Bryant in his second-to-last season:
"When (Kobe) was averaging 22 on 37-percent shooting (in 2014-15), the Lakers went 10 and 25 in the games that he played in. So, I'm not sure that I understand what you're saying, Matt, but I'm not so sure I would say, 'Well, Kobe Bryant would have been the white horse."
The debate over what Michael Jordan and Bryant would have done with this LA Lakers team will remain. But James was statistically successful while the team failed to reach the postseason.