Through the years, many have debated about who among Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant is the better player. While the opinion of many is skewed a bit towards Jordan, one person who knows the two better than anyone else has recently chimed in on the conversation.

Phil Jackson himself has given his thoughts on the comparison between Jordan and Bryant. The former NBA head coach did not answer the question directly on who he thinks is better, but said that the six-time champion has something coachable that The Black Mamba doesn't. He then gave an example, via Liesl Nielsen of KSL.com. of how they will approach the same situation differently, by using benching as an example.

“There was something coachable about Michael that Kobe didn’t have,” Jackson said. “But Kobe had an irrepressible fire.”

“He'd know what he'd done. He had a conscience.”

Bryant, on the other hand, was incredibly competitive and would stand next to him and ask him incessantly if could go back in the game, Jackson said.

Jackson had the privilege to coach both superstars, having been part of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 to 1998, and the Lakers from 1999 to 2011. He is one of the most successful bench tacticians of all-time, winning 11 championships as a coach, and two as a player. His 1,155- 485 record in coaching also goes to show how good he is, and how dominant his teams have been.

The comments made by Jackson are not expected to end the debate of who's the better player between Jordan and Bryant, but it gives the fans a different take of the two and a better understanding of how they are as players.