So Phil Jackson not only talked about Andrew Bynum in his interview with Real HBO Sports, but he also talked about one Kobe Bean Bryant. With one comment, he basically kicked off another set of message board 50 page threads debating Kobe vs. LeBron James.
Here's what Phil had to say about Kobe and LeBron after the jump, and what he wanted Bryant to do to be more like James.
Oh, they're— they're using LeBron every possible way they can. He's such a great player. I still think his game is gonna grow. I still think it's gonna grow. But he was like Scottie Pippen was to the Bulls. He's maybe a pass first and shoot second player. Whereas, you know, Michael or Kobe are like, "I'm gonna shoot this ball." Every time they get the ball, they're looking to score. LeBron's not like that. And I love that about him. But he also, when he goes after scoring, he's also terrific. You want a player that can do both. I tried to get Kobe to do both for numbers of years, and he could. But his first instinct is to beat the guy that's in front of him.
I'm not sure if it's really a subtle jab at Kobe. It's not like Jackson was reticent about Jordan shooting the basketball rather than passing it off, although I'm guessing the situation is a little different when you have Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom on your front-line. But Jackson happily rode along with Bryant to the tune of two more championships, so I'm guessing he's a-ok with letting Kobe do what he did. However, I think he always wished Bryant had learned to defer more when he needed to rather than trying to take over the game on his own.
Talk about Kobe and Phil with Lakers fans over at Silver Screen and Roll.
Check out the SB Nation NBA YouTube channel below and see if you'd be willing to subscribe to the videos.