NBA: Hakeem Olajuwon, Micheal Jordan Tops List Of Kobe Bryant's Toughest Opponents

Basket Ball great Kobe Bryant has named the top five players he has ever played against in the NBA

In a conference call on Monday, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant named his top 5 opposing players and teams, adding that it was difficult not to pick more, via ESPN's Baxter Holmes.

NBA: Stephen Curry Is The Jordan Of This Generation - Jason Kidd

Having played against Michael Jordan for a good portion of his career, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd is well aware of the former Chicago Bulls star's legendary abilities. So when talking about Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry on Saturday night, Kidd was not being facetious when he compared the reigning MVP to Jordan.

"He's this generation's Jordan." Kidd told reporters. "We all wanted to be like Mike, and children today will grow up seeing Steph."

Do note that Kidd is not saying that Curry is a similar player to Jordan. He is mainly comparing Curry to Jordan on a generational level, which is quite true. Jordan captured the imagination of a generation of fans during his playing career and now Curry is doing the same.

Micheal Jordan Or LeBron James: Shaquille O'Neal Backs Jordan Has The Greatest Basketball Player

Jordan vs Lebron - Who is the best issue in Basketball has been on for a while with the both players arguing it out. It started with Jordan, he raised an issue by saying if he were to be playing now he would be better than LeBron James and when James was asked he disagreed and picked himself ahead of Jordan. Now people are trying to do the judgement. More people who certainly talk and i suspect they will gun for Jordan........ Its LeBron for me...

The Big Diesel has weighed in on the argument of the summer. Who would win in a one-on-one match in their primes: LeBron James or Michael Jordan? Not surprisingly, Shaquille O'Neal is siding with the Greatest Of All Time.

"Mike," said O'Neal, winner of four NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers (2000-2002) and the Miami Heat (2006). "I think you have to go with a young Jordan every time."

NBA: LeBron Tells Micheal Jordan He Will Beat Him One On One

For Michael Jordan the answer was easy. Who would win in a game of one on one -- an in-his-prime Jordan or LeBron James? Never one to admit defeat, Jordan picked himself. Unsurprisingly, James believes the opposite would happen.

Asked the same question by TODAY's Willie Geist, James confidently stated that he would win.

"Oh, I take myself,'' James said. "For sure. I mean, I'm gonna take myself versus anybody. I'll tell you one thing — they're gonna have to have a few wheelchairs and a couple ambulances there to get us off the floor."

NBA: I Would Beat LeBron James If I Were In My Prime - Micheal Jordan

Michael Jordan started shaking his head after the second  question was asked. "This is the ESPN question," he said to his campers in Santa Barbara. At this Q&A session, the living legend repeated the query he'd heard, oh, two or three times before: "If I was in my prime, could I beat LeBron in a one-on-one game?"

The campers cheered. He paused and smiled and let them wait for five seconds. Then he uttered the answer everybody expected: "No question."

If you have even a vague idea of how Jordan thinks, then you already understand that it doesn't mean he doesn't respect LeBron James, it doesn't mean he thinks today's game is awful, it doesn't mean ... anything, really. Jordan thinks he's the best, and he always thought he was the best, and that was a huge part of why he was indeed the best for so long. Perhaps James has surpassed him now, but Jordan would argue against that by talking about the differences between their eras.

Basketball Super Star LeBron James To Star In Space Jam 2 Movie

The follow up to the 1996 classic - which starred Michael Jordan - has long been rumoured but this is the first time there have been serious steps in the right direction.

SpringHill Entertainment, the production company owned by James and business partner Maverick Carter, have inked a deal with Warner Bros., the Wall Street Journal reports.