Air Jordan still tops them all

Let me preface this by saying that Kobe and LeBron are great players...

But at this point, neither one of them is MJ. Jordan was more efficient as a scorer. He shot nearly 50% for his career, and it would have been over 50% if he hadn't come back a second time. Kobe's at 45% for his career, LeBron's at 46%. Kobe's a better 3-point shooter, and they are about even from the line, but again Jordan was a 50% shooter. Jordan was a better passer than Bryant is, although LeBron probably has the edge over both because he has incredible vision. Same thing for rebounds. MJ clearly has the edge over Bryant, and LeBron may have the edge over both.

Defensively though is where Jordan pulls away from both. Nine time All First Team Defense in the NBA. Kobe's a solid defender when he wants to, and while LeBron's athleticism allows him to make up for mistakes, he doesn't have the lateral quickness at this point to make him a great defender. Jordan has a large edge over either of these guys.

Sure MJ never won a title without Pippen, but Kobe never won one without Shaq, who was a better player than Pippen (and don't get me wrong, I love Pippen and think he's one of the most underrated guys ever), and LBJ hasn't won one yet (for obvious reasons). Again, edge goes to Jordan.

I think anyway you slice it, Jordan's superior to Kobe in every facet of the game, and that's no slight to Kobe, who's a great player. But at this point, Jordan's a better scorer, rebounder, passer, and defender. It's not even fair to compare Jordan to James, except to say James is better at 21 than Jordan was (although don't forget, at 21 Jordan hit the game-winner in the NCAA Title game). LeBron has the skills and athleticism to be better than Jordan, but at this point, he's clearly not there.

At the end of the day, Air Jordan still reigns supreme. For now.