A friend of mine once said that the differences between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant was: 1) MJ was a better player; and 2) MJ was better as portraying himself as lovable to his adoring public.
I disagreed with my friend at the time, claiming that MJ was a nicer guy and a better teammate, though not an example for human behavior in either of those areas. After watching MJ's Hall of Fame induction speech, I've changed my mind. The only question now is whether MJ is a bigger jerk than Kobe, just that much more talented and a better actor (who also was never accused of rape).
MJ came off in the speech as a bitter, tired aging man who dislikes everyone. As Rick Reilly points out, he dissed anyone who might personally care about him, including his kids and family.
So it leads me to one of three conclusions: 1) He's always been a jerk; 2) He became a jerk over time; and 3) He's not really a jerk, his speech just made him sound like one. I believe it's somewhere between No. 1 and No. 2. There are plenty of stories about his demanding behavior as a teammate, and we know he's a compulsive gambler. Most of what I've read about the man points to a conceeded jerk, and his speech reinforced that.
I don't know if that makes him a bad teammate or not. But in retrospect, he certainly looked like one by how he spoke.
But I can say this for sure: He was a total jerk in his speech, and showed no class, especially compared to David Robinson. Maybe we all want to be like Mike, but we'd rather have our kids grow up to be like David.
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