IMO he wouldn't have been as effective if he played those five seasons that he missed hut simply because of the mileage he would have put on his body regardless of if he got injured or not.
I personally don't think he would have played that long if didn't retire the first time. I think he would have played until that '98 season and retired for good if he didn't leave and play baseball.
Even as a Kobe stan I think he still would have been more effective than Kobe if we wipe everything off the board because Jordan wasn't as stubborn as Kobe, he knew when he had to refine his game and change up. He was smart enough to know his knees were going to start to give out so he worked harder on his jumper and outside shot. Jordan was the ultimate competitor and would let anything INCLUDING HIS EGO get in the way of him winning. Thats the one thing that Jordan has always had over Kobe
Kobe did change his game though. Significantly. Especially from '03 on. And again at the beginning of the '10 season.
His main problem later in his career was that there was a lack of post up opportunities with Bynum/Gasol/Odom all down low. Not only that but it took away from the Lakers' playmaking capabilities as they couldn't find a decent PG that would allow Kobe to play off the ball. So he stays out on the perimeter instead of in the post.
After all of the big guys left, the Lakers start to realize that the league is going insanely PnR heavy so who do they hire? Pringles. Nash is injured most of the time so Kobe plays a hybrid PG/SG for most of the season and wears himself to exhaustion. Rarely sees the post.
In a perfect world, Kobe would've played the last 5 years as a hybrid SG/SF working on the wing and post like Jordan did from '96 on. The NBA's style of play and the Lakers' roster didn't lead to that happening.
No use crying over spilled milk, 20 years is still crazy for any perimeter player.