Not a chance buddy. Money IS 10 times better than these two punks. Look at the deterioration in the standard of basketball due to inward-looking, selfish spoilt brats coming into the game incomplete. Incomplete in their attitude, commitment and love for the game. The way most sports fans see it, all these young punks are interested in is $$$. Gimme multi-million dollar contracts, gimme the endorsements, gimme the highlights, gimme the glitz and glam of basketball. This is reflected by the way they behave off-court and on-court. You watch a Lakers NBA game these days and compare that in a Jordan Bulls game. No energy... no love?

Today's streetballz style of basketball in the NBA has turned it into one huge boring playground for these spoilt brats. How often do you see young black athletes laden with thick gold chains, ear studs, flashy watches? What the hell are they trying to prove? What are they trying to achieve ? Self-respect ? These prima-donnas don't have an ounce of class compared to the likes of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird or Magic Johnson. In Hoops Magazine, May 1997, Mike said,

QUESTION 1 : Can Iverson do this, I don't think so, not with a triple-team

"My challenge when I came back was to face the young talent, dissect their games, and show them maybe that they needed to learn more about the game than just the money aspect. This is a business and you get paid well, but you have to earn respect. You have to do your job every day. It doesn't matter whether you are getting paid $2 million or $30 million. It shouldn't change the way you play the game of basketball. And they can see that. They can see that you are making a lot of money, but they also can see that you have a love of the game"

Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson are good players, but it's unfair to compare them to Jordan. Jordan was scoring thirty points in his first year. He was fundamentally sound, one of the top-five strongest players in the NBA. In addition to not having that killer instinct that no one but Michael has, Kobe is like a lot of players these days who aren't fundamentally sound.

Can you name a great young jump-shooter? Nah, I didn't think so. The only one selling sneakers today who can hit jump shots is Allan Houston. Young players don't think they have to be able to shoot jumpers. They look at sneaker commercials, and they say, "You know what? My jumper'll be off today - I'll just go to the hole and keep dunkin'."

Honest to God that's how they think. When kids turn on ESPN and hear d-d-dum, d-d-dum, they aren't looking for no one hitting a jumper from the corner; they're looking for them to spin around and do a hook dunk backward on somebody.

QUESTION 2 : Did any of them scored 63 points like MJ did against BOSTON in the Apr 20, 1986 Game 2 Eastern Conference Round 1?

Coming in early into NBA is actually bad. These youngsters lack the fundamental skills and team-focussed psyche when playing the game. The lack of fundamental skills, especially passing and play execution is a worrying trend. Maybe they don't wanna pass. Who knows what goes on in their pea-sized minds?

Ball-hogs like Iverson are just plain selfish; Hello dummy!? there's four other players on your team... don't forget to pass when you're gazillion-teamed. In the Jordan era, how often do you see amazing passes from star players which somehow gazumps the opposition, and ends with a resounding alley-oop slam.... Lots of time, and usually you feel the adrenaline rushing and you want to try that move next time you're on the playground.

But these days, the basic play is, "drive-and-dish" to a star player, and hope for the best. Hope that he does something spectacular to score (ie jam). What ever happened to the secondary outlet pass? What about another penetrating drive to the basket to liven things up. Nah!! That'll just be too difficult for these wimps to do. All they want to do is jam. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Look at what happened to the "Dream Team 7" in Indianapolis(1 is 92' Barcelona, 2 is 94' World Championship, 3 is 96' Atlanta, 4 is 98' World Championship, 5 is 2000 Sydney and 6 is 2001 Goodwill Games). They lost to Argentina, and then to Yugoslavia and finally to Spain. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME. I'd rather hug a Palestinian suicide bomber than be on this "Dream Team". Let me ask you a simple question; Is USA the number 6 basketball nation in the world? Hell yeah, bro' looks like it man, going by the 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championship results. I think it's time to wake up USA.... before we get beat by Angola.... What.. you don't know where Angola is (you inward looking prick)? Click here for a map of Angola

Of course we have to cut some slack. We only had Raef LaFrentz, Elton Brand, Andre Miller, Paul Pierce and Baron Davis in the team. Solid players who don't play as a team and worst of all play with no passion compared to Yugoslavia (eventual gold medal winners). And most accomplished NBA players took a pass eg. Shaquille "Bad Big Toe" O'Neal, Allen "Ball Hog" Iverson, Kevin "No Practice" Garnett and Kobe "Sprite" Bryant. So coach George Karl had his options severely limited.

QUESTION 3 : Can Kobe dunk it while being kneed in the balls by Bill Laimbeer? Uhh - Uhh Don't think so, he'll probably go git down the ghetto lookin for his momma

Back to Jordan. Now MJ does the little things, and he plays with heart and passion. Not enough guys play with heart and passion in the NBA anymore. No one coming into the league wants to get hurt, nobody wants to give their body up for the team. You have guys who make US$100 million who wanna get eighteen points and six rebounds, and don't wanna set one pick. They don't wanna do the little things.

Look at Keith Van Horn in the 2001-02 NBA Finals against the Lakers. He was a real chicken shit when it came to guarding Shaq. He was afraid of getting hurt and there was absolutely no desire to work hard and sacrifice his body to let the team win the championship. You can see it in his eyes... Todd MacCulloch had to hack Shaq by himself with no help from Van Horn. Van Horn, what a loser!!

QUESTION 4: Kobe can't play defence even if Big Momma Shaq came to help. Check this Quicktime video out, MJ is too good ... living proof that 36 year old legs is better than 19 year old legs? Click on the picture to download movie LEFT : Even 19 year old Kobe can't stop MJ from hitting his patented fadeway in the 97-98 All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden!!! MJ had the first ever triple double in an AS game with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Unbelievable!

You know why teams are giving away first-round picks? 'Cause there's no such thing as a draft any longer. You don't have any more good players in the draft. All the kids are coming out in their first year of college or their second year. Some even from high school!?! David Stern has to learn to put a cap on it, to say a guy has to play at least three years in college, get a certain amount of credits to come into this league. The NBA being selfish. I think we don't need anymore young stars, any more seventeen-year-olds. Plus, you're killing the college game.

OK, Iverson has that killer X-over that had MJ faked out of his shoes.That's cool, real cool bro' but don't think he can dunk or defend like Jordan.

That's also the reason why kids coming into the league are wild - because you've got a lot of knuckleheads who come in too early. College teaches you how to deal with people in different situations, different cultures, different races. When kids don't have that, they come in and make mistakes. Give a kid US$3 million and he feels like he can do no wrong.

Here's what Jordan has to say about young-gun Kobe coming into the game (from For the Love of the Game, pg 140):

"Look at Kobe Bryant. He doesn't even know what Kobe Bryant's game is yet. How could he? He went from high school to an environment in which he has to sink or swim. He's been able to get by on raw physical ability, but he needs to develop his own foundation before he can become a great player. He can get by borrowing from other players in the short term, but sooner or later he will have to find his own game. That's why college is so important. If I had come right out or high school into the NBA, I don't think I would have become the same player. I wouldn't have had that foundation that North Carolina provided. At the professional level, you have to produce. I would have found ways to compete night after night instead of developing a long-term plan. Can Kobe become a great player? Sure. But it's going take a lot more effort to refine his skills at the same time he's trying to survive."

The game's progress here is driven by the highlight reel. Monster slams make the cut. Setting screens, passing, diving for loose balls and defence off the ball don't. U.S. assistant and Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said, "A lot of kids in America are immature in their approach to the game. When every day somebody's telling you how great you are, it's hard to go work on your game. You're less likely to work on the fundamentals."

Below : Another Jordan wannabee... I don't think so!!! Small handsl... Can't handle the rock as well as Jordan...

The 2002 NBA Draft saw six international players among the top 24 picks, and 14 were selected in the two rounds. We're drafting international players because of their professionalism, maturity and work ethic. From Spain, 2001-02 Rookie of the Year Pau Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies) is testament to the fact that the Europeans have caught up to the American game. Looks like China is catching up too, with number one pick, Yao Ming Dao (7' 5" giant) of the Houston Rockets.

To add to the embarassment, Spain's coach Javier Imbroda said that Pau Gasol (2002 ROY), regressed as a player after a year in the NBA.

"Pau, before he arrived in the NBA, was a complete player," Imbroda said. "He could face the basket, play with his back to the basket, he could drive, run the fast break and shoot. Now he can only play in the low post. So for me, he lost something. In the NBA, the people want to see individual players. They want to watch superstars. It's always a player and not the team. It's a selfish game."

Message to Kobe and Iverson : You fellas better buckle up. Your shallowness, selfishness, greed and shortsightedness will spell the end of the NBA...

BWAHHH!! HA! HA! Kobe, is ever hopeful that signs of basketball greatness will come to him.... not till the oceans dry up and the sun goes supernova kiddo.... And take that jersey off. It's a sacred object buddy.... don't think you're up to that ethereal level yet. What a reject !!!