Congratulations to Kobe Bryant. You now have the 3rd most points. You are now receiving praise from all the greats and LeBron has even called you "the most prolific scorer of all time." But I'd like to make things perfectly clear. You will never, ever be Jordan.

Let's look at the stats. 

First off, I'd like to point out the obvious. It has taken Kobe 4 more seasons to score as many points as Jordan. I would like to see how many points MJ could have put up with 4 more years in the league. Even during his two career closing seasons in Washington, he still averaged 21 points per game, which is incredible for a guy who was 39 years old at the time. 

Jordan also has one more ring than Kobe — I believe this is one of the most important things that sets Jordan apart from all-stars such as Kobe, LeBron, and Kevin Durant. This being the fact that Jordan has been to 6 NBA Finals, won all of them, never scored less than 20 points in any finals game he's played in (ever), not to mention he was the finals MVP in all 6 of his championships. He is the only player to accomplish this. 

Kobe may only be one ring away from 6, but after taking a few looks at the Lakers roster right now, I think the elusive 6th championship ring will never graze Kobe's finger.

Along with his 6 finals MVPs, Jordan earned 5 regular season MVP awards. Kobe only has one. And Jordan had, arguably, stiffer competition for the award going up against guys like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Karl Malone. Guys that will go down in history as some of the best players to ever play the game. Kobe has been outdone by LeBron and KD on too many occasions. 

So, to venture back to the overarching topic of debate. I'm sorry to say, but even though Kobe now has more points than Michael Jordan, he will never be as good as Mike was. Kobe is an amazing player. He has proven to be one of the best players in modern day hoops. But I still think he is just an above average player. His health hasn't been there, and he tries to take over too many games by himself by taking as many shots as he can. There just won't another Jordan.