Anderson says Kobe is closer to Mike than LeBron because ‘Bron is like Magic.

Former New Jersey Nets point guard Kenny Anderson was Mark Jackson’s guest on the latest edition of his podcast.

When Jackson asked Anderson to give his take on the old-school vs. new-school debate on who is the ‘gold basketball player’,

Kenny was quick to say, “Michael Jordan, period.” When Mark’s son Bluu asked his Uncle Kenny if the gap between MJ and LeBron James was close, Kenny said it was not.

“LeBron is one of the best ever to play the game,” said Anderson on The Mark Jackson Show.”But when you run around different teams, play with this guy, play with that guy, Mike never did that. He stayed and got Scottie Pippen.”

Kenny says LeBron is always running around
Anderson discussed Bron going to Miami to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, where he won two titles. He also discussed King James’s returning to Cleveland to join Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, who helped him win the 2016 NBA title.

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In contrast, Kenny said if there is someone who is closest to Mike, it should be Kobe Bryant. Anderson talked about Bryant playing 20 seasons in Los Angeles and winning all his championships there. Regarding LeBron, the former Nets point guard says James has a different comparison.

“But LeBron James is more…I would put him in like Magic, a little bit,” added Anderson. “That’s it. Cuz he pass, read, does it all. Jordan shooting that.”

Could MJ go left?
With Bluu unable to convince his dad and Uncle that the Ohio native is the one true GOAT, Mark’s son asked Kenny the ‘other’ Jordan question: ‘Could MJ go left?’ to which Anderson said ‘yes’ when he guarded him. “He could do it all,” added Anderson, which is the same as what Mark told his son several episodes ago.

“Michael Jeffrey Jordan had zero flaws on the basketball court. He can go right, he can go left, he can shoot the mid-range, he can shoot the three, he can finish at the rim, he can finish in traffic. If you try to beat him up, he’s going to get up and respond. He was an elite defender. He had no flaws as a basketball player, so save your tape and don’t let it lie to you. He can go left and right and do everything in between those lines. We had no answer for him,” Jackson said.

In the latest episode, Mark reiterated that, telling his son, “We was in uniforms, and we had no answers…with some loaded teams.” Well, it’s hard to argue with the likes of Mark and Kenny, who were there firsthand when Jordan dominated the NBA. However, like Bluu, many of the young generation didn’t see Mike in person and grew up with Kobe and LeBron as their gold standards. You can’t blame them either.