Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan? Who Will Go Down as the Greatest in NBA History?

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant is eight points away from passing Michael Jordan for third place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Bryant will pass Jordan any day now. And as the twilight of his career continues, the question will rage: Who was better? Kobe or MJ?

Let's crunch the numbers.

Bryant has 32,284 points in 19 seasons. Jordan scored 32,292 points over 16 seasons. Jordan claimed 11 scoring titles, Bryant four (and leads the NBA in points this season). Bryant grabbed 6,716 total rebounds, Jordan 6,672. Bryant won five championships with the Lakers. Jordan was a six-time champion with the Bulls.

Let the debate continue.

Each side has its supporters.

Denver Post columnist Patrick Saunders wrote this week for Jordan's side.

"I'm solidly behind Jordan," Saunders wrote. "Why? Because he was an original. He changed the game. He set the standard for Bryant and LeBron James to chase."

Bryant came close to matching Jordan, wrote Yahoo! Sports, but fell short. His career was still one of the greatest, but was it THE greatest?

"We're not sure how far away he ever was from becoming the standard," CBSSports' Zach Harper wrote. "It wasn't about the number of titles or the number of points. How much hardware he took home became irrelevant in the conversation at one point because he hadn't lived up to that impossible standard."

Kobe supporters head to Bleacher Report, which penned its support for the contemporary, combative California star. Bleacher Report cited Bryant's slight edge in free throw percentage and three-point percentage.

"Bryant has managed to win despite fighting through some key inconsistencies in his supporting cast," senior writer Drake Oz wrote.

In the end, what does it matter? Both were champions, both inspired "can-you-believe-that?" faces on a daily basis. Both inspired and pissed people off. And both will go down in history.