Michael Jordan is generally accepted as the best basketball player ever, but don't tell that to Kobe Bryant.
Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers star, responded to reports about an upcoming book by iconic coach Phil Jackson that Jackson said Jordan was a better leader, shot the ball better and played better defense than Bryant.
Jackson coached Jordan when the two were with the Chicago Bulls, and the two won six NBA championships (1991-93, 1996-98). Jackson then went to the Lakers and teamed with Bryant for five world titles (2000-02, 2009-10).
Saturday, Bryant was not ready to concede the throne to Jordan in a tweet, as reported by Sports Illustrated.
"The comparisons are apples to oranges," Bryant wrote on Twitter. "Wonder what the perception would be if [Jordan] played [with Shaquille O'Neal] instead. Different roles, different career paths."
The Los Angeles Times posted excerpts from Jackson's book, "Eleven Rings," earlier this week. The book is set to be released publicly on Tuesday.
After the excerpts were published, Jackson also took to Twitter to say that his comments were not meant as negative to Bryant in any way.
""Listen friends of (basketball)," SI.com reported Jackson as tweeting. "Don't get hung up on words. I was most fortunate to have the chance to coach two of the greatest (guards) ever."
Bryant's 2012-13 season was cut short by an Achilles' Heel tear in the third-to-last game of the regular season. The Lakers, who were supposed to contend with for an NBA championship this season with the addition of center Dwight Howard and point guard Steve Nash, were swept in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs.
The Lakers, however, didn't qualify for the playoffs, earning only the No. 7 seed in the West, until the final day of the regular season. Bryant was playing almost every minute of every game during the last few weeks of the season just to help Los Angeles reach the postseason and avoid a moniker of one of the most underachieving team's in league history.
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