Michael Jordan was interviewed about which of today's players could take him one-on-one in his prime, and he answered by showing what a salty, bitter old man he's become.
Namely, he took yet another shot at LeBron James -- the one guy who is a legitimate threat to overtake MJ as Greatest of All Time (and OMG he's only 28!!) by ignoring him and focusing instead on Kobe Bryant -- a player who has mirrored Jordan throughout his career.
In an interview promoting the release of the NBA 2K14 videogame, Jordan, 50, listed players he would've liked to have played one-on-one, such as Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Julius Erving, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade.
He then weighed in on the one guy who might beat him -- in a sort of backhanded compliment -- Kobe Bryant.
"I don't think I would lose," Jordan said in the video, before smiling and adding, "other than to Kobe Bryant, because he steals all of my moves."
Back in February, Jordan chose Kobe over LeBron because of rings.
And then, he said LeBron would not have been successful had he played in Jordan's era.
Of course, Jordan has proven to be among the worst talent evaluators in the NBA (he drafted Kwame Brown first overall!!), and LeBron is literally bigger, stronger, and faster than pretty much all of the players who played in the '80s and '90s. But, hey, Jordan won six rings so obviously he knows what he's talking about.
Wherever one might stand in this debate, one thing is clear: Kobe Bryant is in the twilight of a brilliant career and has yet to eclipse Jordan as far as "all-time greatest" talk is concerned.
So, naturally, Jordan is going to side with Kobe, because the threat his no longer there.
But LeBron?
Time will tell, of course.
But the man is in the midst of his prime with plenty of basketball left to be played. He's also shattering the NBA record book and last season turned in one of the most insanely efficient seasons of all time.
So the threat is very real.
LeBron is a walking time bomb to Jordan's legacy.
And MJ knows it.
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