Kobe Bryant agrees with Michael Jordan: Titles are the true measure

Last week, Michael Jordan said that he would pick Kobe Bryant over LeBron James.

While Jordan said James could finish his career with more championships, Bryant currently has James out-paced 5-1.

“Five beats one every time I look at it,” said Jordan.

Naturally Bryant agreed with Jordan.

“I don’t understand what the big hype [is]. It’s real. It’s real talk. I mean, we’re in it to win championships, period,” said Bryant on SiriusXM’s “Off the Dribble” with Justin Termine and Sam Mitchell on Saturday.

To date, Bryant has five championships in seven trips to the NBA Finals. James finally got his first in three tries last June.

“When I was growing up, [Shaquille O’Neal] and myself, we were both measured by championships,” said Bryant. “For us it was championship or bust. It wasn’t about MVPs, it wasn’t about numbers. It was about, if you don’t win a championship this year, you’re a failure.”

Bryant said he had another obstacle to conquer once O’Neal left the Lakers.

“It was, well, [if] Kobe doesn’t win a championship without Shaq, his previous three don’t mean anything,” said Bryant. “That’s just the pressure that you have to deal with.”

Bryant and the Lakers won two championships with Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. O’Neal and Bryant won three consecutive titles from 2000 to 2002.

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Email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.