Michael Jordan’s ‘Affiliated Media’ Behind LeBron James & Kobe Bryant Criticisms, Claims Gilbert Arenas

Gilbert Arenas spoke about media bias faced by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James compared to Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan’s ‘Affiliated Media’ Behind LeBron James & Kobe Bryant Criticisms, Claims Gilbert Arenas

Gilbert Arenas on Michael Jordan (Image credits - The Sporting News and The Guardian)

The conversation surrounding the GOAT debate has spanned several years. The debate centers primarily on Michael Jordan and LeBron James. However, there have been other players included in the debate as well, and one of them is the late Kobe Bryant.

Bryant’s game was heavily modeled after Jordan. The hyper-competitiveness, killer instinct, and scoring mentality of Bryant’s were very similar to Jordan’s. During his career, Bryant won five championships, two Finals MVPs, one MVP, and two scoring titles.

Meanwhile, James was drafted into the league as “The Chosen One”. Not only did he meet those expectations, but he also surpassed them with his sustained greatness. He has four championships to his name, to go along with four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, one scoring title, and he is the NBA All-Time leader in points.

Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas weighed in on the media bias and intense scrutiny faced by the two superstars compared to Jordan over the years.

He’s (Kobe) the next shooting guard to do triple [rings]. So everybody’s talking about he’s the next Jordan. Jordan comes back. ‘He’s me? He ain’t even number one option. He ain’t no Finals MVP. How does that count?’ That was the narrative. The same narrative that’s f*cking with LeBron’s legacy is the same one who did Kobe’s legacy. Not even sure why Kobe and LeBron fans are going at each other. Jordan’s media is who killed off both of y’all.

Gilbert Arenas on Gil’s Arena

The NBA world is often split between Michael Jordan and James and Bryant in the GOAT debate. While James’ style of play and path to success were very different from Jordan’s, Bryant mirrored his game after his idol and was obsessed with being better than him.

However, Gilbert Arenas believes that the older media members and analysts are protective of Jordan’s legacy and have pitted James’ and Bryant’s fanbases against each other. The former three-time All-Star has been vocal about how the media has always protected the Chicago Bulls legend in the past and even termed it “Jordan’s media.”

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Gilbert Arenas on the media narratives surrounding Kobe Bryant and LeBron James’ careers

Kobe Bryant was drafted as the 13th overall pick in 1996. Meanwhile, Jordan and James were the third and first picks in their respective drafts. However, after a slow start with the Lakers, Bryant formed one of the most lethal duos in NBA history with Shaquille O’Neal.

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James (Image credits – Bleacher Report)

The two joined forces and won three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002. But it was O’Neal who was named as the Finals MVP in all three years. Hence, many saw Bryant as a second option during those championship runs.

Whereas, things were different with LeBron James. After spending seven seasons in Cleveland, he joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. He won two titles with the Heat, but the media criticized him for the move in search of championships.

According to Arenas, the criticism and narratives generated around Bryant and James were started by ‘Jordan’s media’.

You (Kobe) are a second option champion. So that don’t count. So you really have two gold rings and three silvers. LeBron, yours don’t count cause you laugh. You don’t supposed to leave. They started with that bullsh**.

Gilbert Arenas on Gil’s Arena

Bryant spent his entire career and won all his championships with the Lakers, which is similar to what Jordan did with the Bulls. However, James won championships with three different teams. He will be looking to become the first player in history to win with four different teams after joining the Philadelphia 76ers in the summer this year.

Gilbert Arenas defends Kevin Durant’s rings with the Warriors by comparing it to Kobe Bryant’s first three

When Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors in 2016, it shook the NBA world. Not only did he join one of the most dominant teams of all time, but he also turned them into an unbeatable team. He backed it up by winning back-to-back championships and was named as the Finals MVP in both years. However, his move to the Dubs came with harsh criticism.

After Iman Shumpert criticized Durant’s rings with the Warriors, Arenas defended Durant with the same logic as Kobe Bryant‘s rings

You go win it. You was the best player on the team back to back years. And nobody gave you no respect. Is it the championship that matters or how I win it matters? All championships are not equal and thats what these players are finding out in real-time. Kobe had to find it out early. Every championship is not equal but the problem is that you are not giving us the blueprint of telling us they’re not equal.

Gilbert Arenas on Gil’s Arena

While Durant’s legacy is cemented as an all-time great after winning two championships, a dark cloud will always hang over him because of how he won them. However, Arenas believes that a championship is a championship no matter how it is won, as downplaying Durant’s rings is like downplaying the first three rings Bryant won with O’Neal.

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