Dwight Howard gives his take on Kobe Bryant Michael Jordan GOAT debate and it will divide fans

Ex-Lakers player Dwight Howard has had his say on the Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan debate, and it's controversial.

Bryant and Jordan are regarded by many as two of the greatest basketball players of all time alongside icons like LeBron James, Larry Bird and Steph Curry.

Both men won five or more NBA Championships and several Most Valuable Player awards during their careers and are often compared to each other.

And now, former NBA plater Howard has weighed in on the debate over which of the pair is better, and fans will not he happy with his comments.

Speaking on the Gil's Arena podcast, the former Los Angeles Lakers centre said: “I think Kobe [Bryant is] better than [Michael Jordan] skill-wise. He took everything Jordan did and multiplied it. He did it better.”

NBA champion and Olympic Gold medalist Howard, who is perhaps known for his outspoken and controversial opinions, immediately received backlash from podcast host Gilbert Arenas.

Responding to the claim, Arenas said: "Why the f*** are you talking about Kobe enhancing MJ's moves when you're only talking about MJ in '95 and '96.

"Kobe don't look nothing like MJ in '84 to '93, he don't know who that is. He did not mimic Air Jordan."

Therefore, Howard argued that the version of Jordan that Bryant was able to mimic, and potentially enhance, was when he was playing in his second stint with the Lakers between 1995 and 1998, and that he was nowhere near as good as Jordan was the start of his career.

Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan played against each other several times during this careers. (Image: Getty)

Bryant won the NBA Championship five times during his 20 year career with the Lakers, and claimed the MVP award during the 2008 season.

Whereas Jordan won six Championships and received five MVP awards in his 19 year career, which included two retirements in the middle of his time in the NBA.

And in 2019, when asked if he thought he was better than Jordan, Bryant himself showed hesitation.

Speaking on The Last Dance Netflix series, 'Black Mamba' said: "He's like my big brother.

"I truly hate having discussions about who would win one-on-one… what you get from me is from him. I don’t get five championships without him ‘cause he guided me so much.”