Regal FC Barcelona defeated the Lakers in an exhibition game on Thursday and Kobe Bryant came away believing the club could compete in the NBA.

Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson, however, thinks otherwise.

"They played really well [Thursday], but they're not up to the competition that we face night in and night out," Jackson said. "But that's not taking anything away from them. The physicality of our game, the size of our players, those are things that night in and night out are very difficult to contest."

FC Barcelona also came close to topping the Lakers in 2008.

"I don't know why he says these things some time," Bryant said of Jackson.

"I think they execute extremely well, they know each other extremely well, they move the ball extremely well and that's what you're looking for," Bryant added.

"In the NBA, teams that do that are few and far in between, teams that play together as a unit. You see a lot of isolation game; you see a lot of guys going one-on-one. They do a great job moving the ball, they do a great job helping each other defensively, so I disagree, but, what do I know?"