Phil Jackson opened up the Michael Jordan vs Kobe Bryant debate once again as the Hall of Fame coach said on Monday that the Los Angeles Lakers superstar trains better than Jordan.
Jackson, who will be entering his first season as Knicks president, said in an interview with the New York Post that he is not considering Bryant as a model for Carmelo Anthony.
The 11-time champion coach said he doesn't expect any player to reach Bryant's level in terms of behavior in training - even Michael Jordan, whom he coached to six NBA championships in the 1990s.
"No. No one can approach that," Jackson said of Bryant's work ethic in the Michael Jordan vs Kobe Bryant debate update. "I don't expect anybody to be able to model their behavior after that, although Kobe modeled his behavior a lot about Michael Jordan, but he went beyond Michael in his attitude towards training, and I know Mike would probably question me saying that, but he did."
Jackson also said in the Michael Jordan vs Kobe Bryant update that Anthony could learn a lot from Jordan if he wants to become more successful in the remaining years of his career. The veteran bench tactician said that like Jordan, Anthony has to learn to share the ball to his teammates even if he knows that he can score against any defender.
"Michael had to be able to share the ball, other people had to get shots, only so many shots available out there. And when someone's taking 27 a game or something? 25 a game, that's maybe a third of the shots. That can't happen in basketball," Jackson said.
The 69-year-old basketball icon said that he has already talked to Anthony about it and the superstar forward sounded like he is ready to make the adjustment in the upcoming season, while also saying that the triangle offense that will be implemented by newly-appointed coach Derek Fisher could work well for the 11-year veteran.
"It'll give him [Anthony] opportunity to be a passer, a rebounder, and probably easier spots to score from than he's had before. I think. I hope that's true for a lot of the players," Jackson said.
