Well that's because MJ had Scottie [/Kobe apologist]
While I think it's clear that Jordan's Bulls teammates were superior to what Kobe has to work
i disagree.
while i certainly don't want to sell pippen short, and i'll take pippen over both odom and pao, it's certainly not because pippen was more talented than either of those two guys. pippen just had "it." he was a gamer, and a lock down defender to boot. he was the perfect second fiddle. if he had been drafted somewhere where he would have been forced to be the #1 guy, i certainly don't think we'd be talking about scottie pippen in the same light we do today, and he certainly would not have been on the top 50 team.
odom and pao are both incredibly talented, but tend to be soft (especially pao). after that... derek fisher is certainly as good if not better than ron harper or bj armstrong, and the lakers have a very capable bench.
michael jordan made no name, ordinary players into house hold names, many of whom would go on to become terrible terrible GMs thanks to their association with Jordan.
here is the most glaring difference between Michael Jordan and his relationship with his teammates and Kobe Bryant and his relationship with his.
Michael Jordan would be intense and yell at you and get in your face. Kobe Bryant is intense and yells and gets in your face. Michael Jordan would then pass you the ball on the next posession, showing that he still had trust in you. Kobe Bryant will say "fuck it" and shoot a fall away jumper.
Take Michael Jordan in his prime and switch him out with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers win this series. Switch Kobe Bryant with Michael Jordan in the 90s and the Knicks, Suns and Jazz would all have NBA Championship Banners hanging from the rafters. The Bulls may still have gotten a title or even two, but certainly not 6.