Why do black players get compared to black players, and white players to white players?

It is part of human nature to compare or associate things by having something that is visibly common between the two subjects. Think about school, most of the times black kids hang out with black people, or Asians with other Asians.

Larry Bird is compared to Dirk Nowitzki because they are both white forwards. Although there skill set is different, they are part of the core of the 80s Celtics team and 2000s Mavs team respectively. Their contribution to the team is immense thus their success.

MJ gets compared to many people but other of all those people, I still believe Kobe's game is very similar to Michael Jordan's game. The athleticism when they were younger to becoming a jump shooting two guard. The developing the post game for a guard. Look at their post game, they seem identical until the point when Kobe adds his footwork that he learns from Hakeem.

Dwight Howard and Hakeem Olajuwon are compared because they are defensive minded centers. Consider the amount of blocked shots they have and how they are stars. However, Dwight's game is no where near Olajuwon, he does not have the footwork to navigate the post as fluently as Hakeem. Dwight has a long way before he can be compared to the man who has the most career blocks.