Former NFL linebacker Channing Crowder isn’t buying the idea that Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant were great leaders.
On The Pivot Podcast, Crowder drew a hard line between elite talent and real leadership, saying the two legends belonged in the first category, not the second. He also pushed back on the notion that being a leader means being universally relatable.
“I would honestly disagree with you on Jaylen Brown being a great leader,” Crowder said. “I don’t think he’s relatable… The best leaders I know, I played with, they could go talk to the undrafted free agent guard, and they can go talk to the All-Pro cornerback.
And it’s the same thing. We’re all heading in the same direction.”
When co-host Ryan Clark asked whether Jordan and Bryant were relatable, Crowder didn’t hesitate.
“No, I don’t think they were great leaders,” Crowder said. “You said leadership.
I don’t think they’re great leaders. I think they’re great players.
I don’t think Jordan was a great leader. After watching The Last Dance, Jordan’s not a great leader.”
The 2020 documentary gave a close look at Jordan’s time with the Chicago Bulls, and it showed just how intense he was with teammates. Jud Buechler said in the film that the Bulls were afraid of him. Will Perdue, who Jordan once punched during practice, said Jordan crossed the line many times, though he also said that with time and perspective, he sees him as a hell of a teammate.
Jordan’s own view in the documentary was that winning came with a cost. He said he pulled people along when they didn’t want to be pulled and challenged them when they didn’t want to be challenged.
Jordan has also said that if his Bulls teammates thought he was a tyrant back then, they’re probably appreciative now. Bill Wennington echoed that idea in the documentary, saying Jordan was pushing them to be better and that his methods worked.
Clark didn’t see that as a leadership failure. He argued that the job of a leader is to get you to championships, and he said the Bulls players improved because they were around Jordan.
Crowder, though, seemed to view Chicago’s six titles in the 1990s as proof of Jordan’s greatness as a player more than proof of leadership. He then shifted to Bryant, who won five NBA championships.
“Do I think Kobe was a great leader?” Crowder said.
“Is he going to go talk to the 15th guy on the bench and try to teach him how to keep his elbow in? No.
[He’d say], ‘B****, you going to be off the team next week.’ Like, what are we talking about?
I think great players can be great players, and I think there’s people with leadership skills.
“So, to ask who is a leader, a leader is somebody that can relate with everybody,” Crowder added. “If you’re extremely talented and can ball, go ball.”
Bryant had the same reputation for being brutally demanding. He wasn’t interested in softening his message or acting like a teammate’s friend. Crowder joked that Bryant would tell the 15th man on the Los Angeles Lakers roster they were about to be gone, and a version of that actually happened when Jeremy Lin described Bryant showing up to Lakers practice before the 2015 trade deadline and saying, “I just came by to say bye to some of you bums who are going to get traded tomorrow.”
The common thread in Crowder’s view is simple: Jordan and Bryant could be merciless, and they expected everyone around them to absorb it. That kind of approach, though, isn’t for everybody. Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards has said you can’t talk to every teammate the same way in today’s NBA, because people are different and need to be treated differently.
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