Dennis Rodman rules on Kobe Bryant-LeBron James debate

[usdane]

"That's an easy question," Rodman says. "LeBron, he's more of a power forward. Kobe . . . has basically grown into his skills. I think Kobe has [become] a Michael Jordan of this era because he's very smart, and he knows how to score.

"LeBron is more like. 'Here I come, watch out!' I think LeBron right now is more like a kid, like a freight train. Kobe is better."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-random1-2009nov01,0,1174893.story

Rodman on Judge Pirro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_CdnGAhfj4&feature=related

[Chieflion]

Rodman does not know what the hell he is talking about.

[mystargtr34]

Of course Kobe's skills are better... nobody really argues that...

But size and athleticism are apart of basketball too.

[Findog]

I think LeBron is more physically gifted. Kobe, on the other hand, has a much more reliable jumper and has to be defended on the entire floor.

[Brazil]

Thanks Dennis ! so cool... a wise opinion on the kobe/lbj debate, we need it.

[Riverwalkman]

If Kobe and LBJ switch teams...

[symple19]

If Kobe and LBJ switch teams...

...then the lakers have more titles

LBJ>Kobe

[TDMVPDPOY]

askn the worm for an answer lmao

[Lars]

Its really not even a comparison at this point. Kobe has continually underacheived unless he is on a completely stacked team, even then he has managed to choke (2003). Lebron has virtually no help and carries his team to ridiculous levels, although never quite over the top.

[AussieFanKurt]

LBJ just pulls up for 3s in clutch situations and hardly hits them. It annoys me a lot. Near end of Cavs v Boston was good example where he set no play except a three for himself and bricked it as Pierce hit a 2 at other end. He needs to change that. Kobe does that too but not as much. I think Kobes the more skilled, smarter player while LBJ is the supreme athlete

[boston.balla]

kobe is the best player 1v1 in the league. He is the most complete.
In 5v5 basketball situations they are of similar value to their teams because those teams function differently and ask various things from them (some of which are common such as scoring, some are not=creating).

I find it interesting that kobe needed to mature mentally to trust his teammates while lebron trusts his teammates but needs to mature skillwise. In a 5v5 it matters most how the team is built for the player(we are talking about kobe-bron-wade-cp3-d12 level). When the team is built correctly around the player he can really shine, when it is not he does not.

Furthermore, some builds have a maximum of effectiveness. Example(right now): cp3 is not a defensive pg so defensively his team will always have a flaw ; lebron can have big fluctuations in offensive efficiency against great defenses so his team will always have fluctuations because the offense mainly runs through him; wade plays recklessly and this will cost him, therefore his team is always under the pressure of losing him (those of you who play team sports understand fairly easy that this is a big problem for a team); d12 has no great postup game, moreover he is not a leader so his team will always need a source(or more) of balance on the floor.

Now i don't care what rodman says but there are many factors that casual or "too passionate"/blind fans are not aware of. In this era of stats it's easy to not take into account leadership, team defense,team assists, etc and to try to compare players 1v1 when it does not make sense. For superstars the best comparison is if they can make (not lead) their team succesful while playing in team tailored for them.

Kobe was no leader for much of his career. I sincerely think he isn't one right now. Kobe is a winner and a great example but leadership isn't just a winning mentality, it's the ability to give this mentality to teammates (in this league timmy, bron, billups are these guys). I'm not yet sold on cp3, I'll give him a couple of seasons.

D-wade and kobe are more of killers on the floor than leaders. Their mission out there is not to make others better but to kill the opposition. Sure, if teammates jump in the rythm it's ok, but mainly these guys breathe with killing in mind.

Lebron is more of a leader than a killer and because people want him to be like/better than kobe he started to try to be more of a killer, which i don't think will work out for him because he is a better player when he plays lebron ball then when he plays kobe ball (lebron pass first /kobe score first). Sure it can work sometimes, but more often than not it leads to inefficient scoring(see ECF).

Anyways, the whole point is that each superstar needs a tailored team to shine. Sure, some are more spectacular, thus popular (magic johnson, jordan) and some are less popular(hakeem, even bird), but a team is far more than a player and a team brings the rings.

As for the rings discussion, without a good tailored team you can't have rings. So without a capable front desk and an intelligent coach you're fucked (hello bron!).

The most comical thing is that these guys are so talented that they can push games even when their team is not built for them and we see it and consider it's better for them to play this way than to play team ball, which leads to bad habbits. Few superstars truely understood this.

[Allanon]

There's been a shift in opinion since last year when LeBron got bounced by Dwight even though he had 4 past/present All Stars on his team.

If you can't even get past Dwight after winning 66 games, that's a choke. We laugh at the Mavs choking to the Warriors, this wasn't far off.

LeBron's pounding the ball too much while his teammates stand and watch. This is no different than young ballhog Kobe. And this will never win the championship.

I think most people now are saying Kobe's the better player because of this failure.

[Muser]

Who were these past/present all stars?

[Allanon]

Who were these past/present all stars?

Mo, Big Z, Ben Wallace, Wally + LeBron = 5 total

[boston.balla]

lol @past allstars.

I agree with you that this type of ball only leads to personal stats.
Furthermore i mentioned that a team has to be tailored for a superstar for him to be succesfull => the duncan-spurs, kobe needs a low post scorer, dwight needs shooters, lebron needs a scoring big that can defend, etc. And the team has to be able to defend, has to be able to not be exploited by matchup nightmares, and has to be motivated... these are all important.

Mo can not defend and CHOCKED in the playoffs
Bigz can not defend and is old and slow
Ben + Wally = joke.

The cavs overachieved BIG TIME last year => the lol of mo williams being an all star => the heart breakening loss in ECF.

The problem with the cavs (all of them including bron) is that they are too emotional, thus they need guidance, thus the pressure on the superstar, thus the chocking and balling in dumb way.

[hater]

this is why these conversations never end in agreement:

- If I was building a team from scratch, I pick Lebron 100% of the time
- I also admit Kobe is a "better" player
- they are both equally hard and equally dangerous at any given time

[Destro]

Lebron is still potential

Kobe has reached his potential

Kobe is better right now

[ElNono]

I would take Rodman's opinion on transvestites... and not much anything else.

[hitmanyr2k]

There's been a shift in opinion since last year when LeBron got bounced by Dwight even though he had 4 past/present All Stars on his team.

If you can't even get past Dwight after winning 66 games, that's a choke. We laugh at the Mavs choking to the Warriors, this wasn't far off.

LeBron's pounding the ball too much while his teammates stand and watch. This is no different than young ballhog Kobe. And this will never win the championship.

I think most people now are saying Kobe's the better player because of this failure.

Did you practice to become this stupid?

[Muser]

Did you practice to become this stupid?

:lol

[Allanon]

Did you practice to become this stupid?

Nah, I learned from you dick.

Let me know when it's not true.

[Muser]

If Kobe had Mo/Ben Wallace/Wally/Big Z would they beat Orlando?

I'm not saying LeBron > Kobe or Kobe > LeBron, but saying Those 4 players were even slightly good enough to beat Orlando is retarded.

[Allanon]

If Kobe had Mo/Ben Wallace/Wally/Big Z would they beat Orlando?

Yes.

We so quickly forget that alot of experts had the Cavs winning it all and that the Cavs had a legit team. They just choked.

They won 66 games and stomped the opposition in the 1st 2 rounds.

[TheMACHINE]

i honestly dont care who is better...at the end of the day, its all about rings. If Lebron never gets a ring, 20 yrs from now he'll be next to the greats along with Barkely, and Malone.

[hitmanyr2k]

Nah, I learned from you dick.

Anyone who thinks those guys are true "all-stars" is fucked in the head. In their prime they were borderline all-stars at best. The only reason Z was ever an all-star was because the Eastern Conference was just that weak. Last year most of those guys were past their prime and weren't even NEAR all-star level. So calling those guys all-stars you're either...

A) Making a Joke
B) An idiot
C) Serious and therefore B) an idiot

[ElNono]

Yes.

:wow :lmao

[Allanon]

Anyone who thinks those guys are true "all-stars" is fucked in the head. In their prime they were borderline all-stars at best. Last year most of those guys were past their prime and weren't even NEAR all-star level. So calling those guys all-stars you're either...

A) Making a Joke
B) An idiot
C) Serious and therefore B) an idiot

You're fucking stupid as usual.

These jokes won 66 games last year.

I'll bet you had the Cavs beating the Lakers or winning it all last year too...shall we look up old posts? :lol

[ElNono]

If Kobe had Mo/Ben Wallace/Wally/Big Z would they beat Orlando?

No way in hell...

[Allanon]

:wow :lmao

Look through last year's Playoffs threads. Many, many, many Spurfans said the Cavs would be champs.

Would you happen to be one of them?

In fact, aside from myself and maybe 1-2 others here, everybody said how damn good the Cavs were.

All of a sudden, it was a shitty team? :lol

[ElNono]

Look through last year's Playoffs threads. Many, many, many Spurfans said the Cavs would be champs.

Would you happen to be one of them?

I thought they would beat Orlando. I even gave you props for getting that call right. I didn't think anybody in the East really had a shot.

Don't be fooled. Nobody wanted to give the Lakers props, and that's a different story. But when the Finals came around, I don't think there was much doubt.

[hitmanyr2k]

You're fucking stupid as usual.

These jokes won 66 games last year.

I'll bet you had the Cavs beating the Lakers or winning it all last year too...shall we look up old posts? :lol

Be my guest and look up old posts. It still doesn't take away the fact that you're the biggest moron on the planet if you're talking about these guys being all-stars at this point in their careers :lol

Ben Wallace and Ilgauskas haven't seen an all-star game in 3-4 years. Wally saw one all-star game in 2002...SEVEN freakin years ago :lol How is someone going to be that fuckin dumb to call these guys all-stars?!?

[Allanon]

Be my guest and look up old posts. It still doesn't take away the fact that you're the biggest moron on the planet if you're talking about these guys being all-stars at this point in their careers :lol

Ben Wallace and Ilgauskas haven't seen an all-star game in 3-4 years. Wally saw one all-star game in 2002...SEVEN freakin years ago :lol How is someone going to be that fuckin dumb to call these guys all-stars?!?

Hahah, you were one of the bitches proclaiming that the Cavs would be 2009 champs eh?

I can see why you're butt-hurt but that's ok. That doesn't change the fact that there were 4 past/present All-Stars on that team...exactly how I said it.

Cavs win 66, everybody's on their jock. Now they lost and everybodys saying LeBron had a shitty team. Not surprising, not surprising.

Try again, Spurfan. :lol

[Allanon]

I thought they would beat Orlando. I even gave you props for getting that call right. I didn't think anybody in the East really had a shot.

Don't be fooled. Nobody wanted to give the Lakers props, and that's a different story. But when the Finals came around, I don't think there was much doubt.

It's all good El Nono. I have no argument with you. I'm just fucking with hitman because he wants to be a dick.

I find it funny and hypocritical that nobody brought up the Cavs being a bad team until they lost to Orlando. Prior to that, it was the greatest team ever.

[ginobili's bald spot]

If Kobe had Mo/Ben Wallace/Wally/Big Z would they beat Orlando?


Who knows. But I do know that Kobe took a starting lineup featuring Smush Parker, Kwame Brown and Luke Walton to the playoffs and on the cusp of beating the Suns back when everyone thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. Lebron has never had a supporting cast that bad.

[hitmanyr2k]

Who knows. But I do know that Kobe took a starting lineup featuring Smush Parker, Kwame Brown and Luke Walton to the playoffs and on the cusp of beating the Suns back when everyone thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. Lebron has never had a supporting cast that bad.

No one thought the Suns were the greatest thing since sliced bread in 2006 :lol They were a rag tag team held together by gum and scotch tape. Amare was out for the season and they had a ton of new faces on that team. Everyone thought 2006 was the year Nash was going to be "exposed" without Stoudemire. That was the main reason Nash won MVP. The Suns were damaged goods and had no front court to speak of. They only had a 6 player rotation on the road in Staples for Game 6 with Raja Bell being suspended and somehow LA still lost to that team. And then we all know how Game 7 worked out :lol

[hater]

It's all good El Nono. I have no argument with you. I'm just fucking with hitman because he wants to be a dick.

I find it funny and hypocritical that nobody brought up the Cavs being a bad team until they lost to Orlando. Prior to that, it was the greatest team ever.

Lebron took a team of Bobbie Gibson, Sasha Pavlovick, Donyel marchall and big Z to the NBA finals. They beat a damn good Pistons team that could have competed with that Suns team.

[ginobili's bald spot]

Somehow? Ya how did they ever lose with that loaded roster. :rolleyes

[Allanon]

Lebron took a team of Bobbie Gibson, Sasha Pavlovick, Donyel marchall and big Z to the NBA finals. They beat a damn good Pistons team that could have competed with that Suns team.

The Suns or the Spurs would have won that year; no question. Nobody else was close.

That's why that same Lebron team got swept....if it wasn't the Spurs, it would have been the Suns doing the honors. The West was clearly dominating the East back then.

LeBron pretty much won those games with superhuman effort; not team effort.

This is no different than Kobe dominating in '06. It's great for stats and records but won't win you a ring.

[MiamiHeat]

http://theheroiclife.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/dennis-rodman.jpg

http://www.chiefmag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/dennis-rodman.jpg

http://www.foxnews.com/images/234684/0_61_102506_dennis_rodman.jpg


Like you really want to care what Rodman thinks

[ginobili's bald spot]

Lebron took a team of Bobbie Gibson, Sasha Pavlovick, Donyel marchall and big Z to the NBA finals. They beat a damn good Pistons team that could have competed with that Suns team.

There is no comparison between big Z and Kwame freakin Brown. There was no comparison between the East and the west back then. Shit, the Cavs dumped Smush because they didn't want him and he was STARTING 162 straight games for the Lakers. That should tell you something.

[TheMACHINE]

No one thought the Suns were the greatest thing since sliced bread in 2006 :lol They were a rag tag team held together by gum and scotch tape. Amare was out for the season and they had a ton of new faces on that team. Everyone thought 2006 was the year Nash was going to be "exposed" without Stoudemire. That was the main reason Nash won MVP. The Suns were damaged goods and had no front court to speak of. They only had a 6 player rotation on the road in Staples for Game 6 with Raja Bell being suspended and somehow LA still lost to that team. And then we all know how Game 7 worked out :lol

another example about a team that everyone thought was the shit but later on Hitman said was crap after a playoff loss? lol

[MiamiHeat]

The Suns never played defense. Nobody took them seriously to be in the NBA Finals.

It was ALWAYS Spurs or Mavericks around those years. A team that can't play defense will never win a championship. Everyone knew that.

On top of that, no amare.

Lastly, I like how you leave out that the Lakers had Lamar Odom, who is a great player who has co-lead a team to the playoffs before in Miami with rookie Dwyane Wade. In fact, Odom and rookie Dwyane Wade advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs in their first year together.

[hitmanyr2k]

another example about a team that everyone thought was the shit but later on Hitman said was crap after a playoff loss? lol

No, everyone thought that team was shit...get it right. When Amare went down everyone was salivating at Steve Nash getting exposed. Many thought he had no right winning MVP the year before and couldn't wait for him to fall on his face. When they picked up Boris Diaw from Atlanta everyone went into hysterics because no one had a clue who the guy was. The Suns had NO center or inside game. The main reason Nash got the MVP in '06 was because his team had a bunch of cast-offs and new faces and they overachieved with their gimmick style of play. The Lakers had no business blowing a 3-1 lead to that team :lol ...especially in a close-out game at home (Game 6) where the Suns were missing their best defender.

[TheMACHINE]

On top of that, no amare.

Lastly, I like how you leave out that the Lakers had Lamar Odom, who is a great player who has co-lead a team to the playoffs before in Miami with rookie Dwyane Wade. In fact, Odom and rookie Dwyane Wade advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs in their first year together.

I also like how you left out how crappy the eastern conference was.

[TheMACHINE]

No, everyone thought that team was shit...get it right. When Amare went down everyone was salivating at Steve Nash getting exposed. Many thought he had no right winning MVP the year before and couldn't wait for him to fall on his face. When they picked up Boris Diaw from Atlanta everyone went into hysterics because no one had a clue who the guy was. The Suns had NO center or inside game. The main reason Nash got the MVP in '06 was because his team had a bunch of cast-offs and new faces and they overachieved with their gimmick style of play. The Lakers had no business blowing a 3-1 lead to that team :lol ...especially in a close-out game at home (Game 6) where the Suns were missing their best defender.

yah everyone thougt the number 1 team in the western conference was shit. Give me a fucking break. Just like you said the #1 team in the eastern conference was shit last year. Hindsight is 20/20. You're just good at pretending you knew it all before they failed.

[mavsluva]

Rodman does not know what the hell he is talking about.

He knows much more than you do because he has the NBA experience to back up what he's saying. You, on the other, are simply self smarted. Because you have no NBA experience whatsoever. Yet you seem to know everything regarding the game and its players.

[21_Blessings]

Lebron took a team of Bobbie Gibson, Sasha Pavlovick, Donyel marchall and big Z to the NBA finals. They beat a damn good Pistons team that could have competed with that Suns team.

The East was disgustingly weak that year.

That Pistons team was playing Chris Webber at center during crunch time. Rasheed wasn't 100%. The Pistons weren't all that great that season.

[TheNextGen]

You're just good at pretending you knew it all before they failed.

Ouch! lol

[hitmanyr2k]

yah everyone thougt the number 1 team in the western conference was shit. Give me a fucking break. Just like you said the #1 team in the eastern conference was shit last year. Hindsight is 20/20. You're just good at pretending you knew it all before they failed.

Are you fuckin stupid? Well you're a Laker fan of course you are :lol

The Suns were the #1 team in the West in 2005...not 2006, you dummy. Do you think Phoenix fans were really jumping for joy when they lost Amare for the season? How about when they lost Joe Johnson? Picked up some unknown scrub named Boris Diaw? Picked up journeyman Raja Bell? Where was their front court? Kurt Thomas? Give me ONE analyst that were forecasting the Suns to be the #1 team in the West or even favorites to go to the Finals that year :lol I'm tired of educating you fuckin idiots.

[TheMACHINE]

Are you fuckin stupid? Well you're a Laker fan of course you are :lol

The Suns were the #1 team in the West in 2005...not 2006, you dummy. Do you think Phoenix fans were really jumping for joy when they lost Amare for the season? How about when they lost Joe Johnson? Picked up some unknown scrub named Boris Diaw? Picked up journeyman Raja Bell? Where was their front court? Kurt Thomas? Give me ONE analyst that were forecasting the Suns to be the #1 team in the West or even favorites to go to the Finals that year :lol I'm tired of educating you fuckin idiots.

:lol :lmao

You're a fucking DUMBASS!

First you talk about the "The Lakers had no business blowing a 3-1 lead to that team".. Hey buddy..when the lakers "blew the 3-1 lead" to that team u were reffering too...what place was the Suns? IDIOT. lol

Stupid BULLS fans are dumb...i bet you dont keep up with basketball since you havent been relevent since 1998.

[hitmanyr2k]

:lol :lmao

You're a fucking DUMBASS!

First you talk about the "The Lakers had no business blowing a 3-1 lead to that team".. Hey buddy..when the lakers "blew the 3-1 lead" to that team u were reffering too...what place was the Suns? IDIOT. lol

They weren't #1 dipshit.

[TheMACHINE]

They weren't #1 dipshit.

my point being homecourt and great record...still a great team that everyone was jocking

[La Peace]

Rodman just stating the obvious.

[Fabbs]

Collude Pao Gasol to the Cavs and see how Kobeboi does.

[TheMACHINE]

Collude Pao Gasol to the Cavs and see how Kobeboi does.

dont you mean Kome?

[usdane]

“well the NBA is in great hands but if I had to pick the single greatest player on the planet, I take Kobe Bryant without hesitation.” - Michael Jordan

"Kobe is the most talented in the game on both ends of the floor" - Gregg Popovich

[21_Blessings]

“well the NBA is in great hands but if I had to pick the single greatest player on the planet, I take Kobe Bryant without hesitation.” - Michael Jordan

"Kobe is the most talented in the game on both ends of the floor" - Gregg Popovich

/thread

[Chieflion]

Look through last year's Playoffs threads. Many, many, many Spurfans said the Cavs would be champs.

Would you happen to be one of them?

In fact, aside from myself and maybe 1-2 others here, everybody said how damn good the Cavs were.

All of a sudden, it was a shitty team? :lol
Not many. I thought Orlando would kick the Cavs ass because of matchup problems.

[Spursfan092120]

I think Rodman is spot on.

[KidCongo]

At least 50 times. I've jumped off a building, jumped off a cliff in a car. I've been in bedrooms when women came in with knives and guns.

Rodman is full of great quotes.

[usdane]

At least 50 times. I've jumped off a building, jumped off a cliff in a car. I've been in bedrooms when women came in with knives and guns.

Rodman is full of great quotes.

A lot of people seems to feel the same way as Rodman including Lebron.

“I believe that Kobe Bryant is still the best player in the game, his experience and his overall talent. It’s not taking away from Lebron, it’s not taking away from Carmelo, it’s not taking away from myself. Kobe has been in the game longer than the rest of us, he’s older than us, he’s smart with the game. He’s the better player.”- D. Wade. June 2009

"Kobe is better than Michael Jordan with the basketball." - Phil Jackson

"Kobe is the best 3 point shooter in the game." - Reggie Miller

"Kobe may be more talented than Michael Jordan." - Mike Dunleavy

"Its not even close, Kobe's the best hands down." - Tracy McGrady

"Kobe Bryant will go down as the greatest basketball player of all time." - Mark Jackson

"Kobe is more skilled than Jordan, a better shooter. Michael has bigger hands and that helped him alot." - Phil Jackson

"Kobe is the best player in the league no doubt" - Michael Jordan

"Kobe is the best player and best scorer in the league." - Lebron James

"Kobe is the best in the league" - Clyde Drexler

“well the NBA is in great hands but if I had to pick the single greatest player on the planet, I take Kobe Bryant without hesitation.” - Michael Jordan

"Kobe is the most talented in the game on both ends of the floor" - Gregg Popovich

"Kobe is still the best in the game" - Phil Jackson

"He's the best one-on-one player in the league, hands down." - Chris Bosh

"Kobe is the best in the game..." - Larry Bird on DP Show

"Kobe Bryant is probably the best allaround player we have today" - Kiki Vandehaeghue

"for the best player in the league to say that about me.." - Gilbert Arenas on Kobe

"Everyone knows Kobe is the best in the game right now" - Mike D'Antoni

"It's amazing. Beyond amazing. He's on another level from any other player at this point." - Mark Cuban

"Players are jealous of greatness. Kobe is a unique talent and a unique person." - Jerry West

"The MVP is the best player. The award should go to Kobe..." - Chauncey Billups in 2006

"Hats off, he's the best. It's hard to get 50 in a game. He did it in a half. It takes a tough player who works really hard. I think he's one of the best ever." - Eric Snow

"Who betta than Kobe?" - Amare Stoudemire

"Kobe is the best in the game" - Stephon Marbury

"That should put all the questions to rest who's the most talented and who's the, you know, best offensive player in the league." - Ben Gordon

"Kobe, he's a special player. He's the best player on the planet right now" - Jason Kidd

"We're witnessing greatness right now. We need to understand that. (asked: "Is he the best of the best?") Yeah, definetly." - Tyson Chandler

"Amazing to see how he hasn't won an MVP award considering how he's been the best player the past few years." - Sixers Play by play man Tom McGinnis

"Kobe is the best player in the game" - Stu lantz

"Kobe is a tough player, arguably the best player in the NBA right now." - Kenyon Martin

"Kobe is the best player in the league" - Charles Barkley

"Mj is the best player ever, but kobe is the best offensive player ever. I guess Im fine with MJ getting the label best ever, but I really dont see much difference. Maybe you can say MJ was more ruthless, but even that is close. The ease in which he makes everything look is amazing, and defensively, he can lock down anyone he wants. I just dont see much of a difference." - Eddie Johnson

"Kobe's better than Lebron." - Ira Newble, who was Lebron's former teammate

"My first thoughts were that I'm playing with one of the greatest players to ever play the game." - JR Smith

"Kobe is in a stratoshpere of his own." - Avery Johnson

"The best player in the game right now is Kobe Bryant" - Bill Walton

"Kobe is the most skilled player in the game today..." - Bill Walton

"We're going up against Kobe, whose the best player in the NBA." -Derrick Rose

[21_Blessings]

Game recognize game.

[KidCongo]

Laker fan grabs 5000pg quote book to find his favourites. Now he's not only better than LeBron but the best 3pt shooter, better than MJ and will go down as the greatest ever. Dayum.

[MiamiHeat]

Hilarious to quote Phil Jackson while he is STILL THE COACH of the Lakers

I seem to remember Phil also saying Kobe was uncoachable and all sorts of bad things.

What do you want Phil to say? "Nah, kobe is ok but MJ was a lot better"

He is not gonna do that to his own player, kobe's ego is bigger than shaq's

[TheMACHINE]

A lot of people seems to feel the same way as Rodman including Lebron.

“I believe that Kobe Bryant is still the best player in the game, his experience and his overall talent. It’s not taking away from Lebron, it’s not taking away from Carmelo, it’s not taking away from myself. Kobe has been in the game longer than the rest of us, he’s older than us, he’s smart with the game. He’s the better player.”- D. Wade. June 2009

"Kobe is better than Michael Jordan with the basketball." - Phil Jackson

"Kobe is the best 3 point shooter in the game." - Reggie Miller

"Kobe may be more talented than Michael Jordan." - Mike Dunleavy

"Its not even close, Kobe's the best hands down." - Tracy McGrady

"Kobe Bryant will go down as the greatest basketball player of all time." - Mark Jackson

"Kobe is more skilled than Jordan, a better shooter. Michael has bigger hands and that helped him alot." - Phil Jackson

"Kobe is the best player in the league no doubt" - Michael Jordan

"Kobe is the best player and best scorer in the league." - Lebron James

"Kobe is the best in the league" - Clyde Drexler

“well the NBA is in great hands but if I had to pick the single greatest player on the planet, I take Kobe Bryant without hesitation.” - Michael Jordan

"Kobe is the most talented in the game on both ends of the floor" - Gregg Popovich

"Kobe is still the best in the game" - Phil Jackson

"He's the best one-on-one player in the league, hands down." - Chris Bosh

"Kobe is the best in the game..." - Larry Bird on DP Show

"Kobe Bryant is probably the best allaround player we have today" - Kiki Vandehaeghue

"for the best player in the league to say that about me.." - Gilbert Arenas on Kobe

"Everyone knows Kobe is the best in the game right now" - Mike D'Antoni

"It's amazing. Beyond amazing. He's on another level from any other player at this point." - Mark Cuban

"Players are jealous of greatness. Kobe is a unique talent and a unique person." - Jerry West

"The MVP is the best player. The award should go to Kobe..." - Chauncey Billups in 2006

"Hats off, he's the best. It's hard to get 50 in a game. He did it in a half. It takes a tough player who works really hard. I think he's one of the best ever." - Eric Snow

"Who betta than Kobe?" - Amare Stoudemire

"Kobe is the best in the game" - Stephon Marbury

"That should put all the questions to rest who's the most talented and who's the, you know, best offensive player in the league." - Ben Gordon

"Kobe, he's a special player. He's the best player on the planet right now" - Jason Kidd

"We're witnessing greatness right now. We need to understand that. (asked: "Is he the best of the best?") Yeah, definetly." - Tyson Chandler

"Amazing to see how he hasn't won an MVP award considering how he's been the best player the past few years." - Sixers Play by play man Tom McGinnis

"Kobe is the best player in the game" - Stu lantz

"Kobe is a tough player, arguably the best player in the NBA right now." - Kenyon Martin

"Kobe is the best player in the league" - Charles Barkley

"Mj is the best player ever, but kobe is the best offensive player ever. I guess Im fine with MJ getting the label best ever, but I really dont see much difference. Maybe you can say MJ was more ruthless, but even that is close. The ease in which he makes everything look is amazing, and defensively, he can lock down anyone he wants. I just dont see much of a difference." - Eddie Johnson

"Kobe's better than Lebron." - Ira Newble, who was Lebron's former teammate

"My first thoughts were that I'm playing with one of the greatest players to ever play the game." - JR Smith

"Kobe is in a stratoshpere of his own." - Avery Johnson

"The best player in the game right now is Kobe Bryant" - Bill Walton

"Kobe is the most skilled player in the game today..." - Bill Walton

"We're going up against Kobe, whose the best player in the NBA." -Derrick Rose


Laker fan grabs 5000pg quote book to find his favourites. Now he's not only better than LeBron but the best 3pt shooter, better than MJ and will go down as the greatest ever. Dayum.



You can add:
"Now he's not only better than LeBron but the best 3pt shooter, better than MJ and will go down as the greatest ever." -Behold The KING

[HarlemHeat37]

Most of those quotes were from a few years ago, and were comments about that certain time..I also find it funny how Kobe is the only guy I've ever seen that has the media ask other players about him in an attempt to over hype him and inflate his legacy..I've never seen that before, even when Michael was playing..

Also if we're going to take Phil Jackson's quotes, we should also consider his quote that he wasn't surprised when he heard Kobe was suspected of rape..so if we're taking Phil's opinion of Kobe as the best, we should also believe that he is a rapist..

Lebron is clearly the best player in the NBA..the visual backs it up, the numbers back it up, the supporting cast/success ratio backs it up..

[Agloco]

There's been a shift in opinion since last year when LeBron got bounced by Dwight even though he had 4 past/present All Stars on his team.

If you can't even get past Dwight after winning 66 games, that's a choke. We laugh at the Mavs choking to the Warriors, this wasn't far off.

LeBron's pounding the ball too much while his teammates stand and watch. This is no different than young ballhog Kobe. And this will never win the championship.

I think most people now are saying Kobe's the better player because of this failure.

Losing to the 3 seed as opposed to the 8 seed is just a bit different, but thanks for playing anyway.

LBJ is going to go down as a more complete player than Kobe in the end because LBJ makes the people around him much better than they would otherwise be.

[Allanon]

Losing to the 3 seed as opposed to the 8 seed is just a bit different, but thanks for playing anyway.

I know you guys hate the Mavs but going down to the Magic was a huge choke. The Magic were a #3 seed but they were a weak #3, a full 7 games behind the Cavs. Magic were also missing their 2nd best player in Jameer Nelson.

The Lakers almost swept those Magic that LeBron couldn't beat.



LBJ is going to go down as a more complete player than Kobe in the end because LBJ makes the people around him much better than they would otherwise be.

This is where we disagree. At this point in their careers Kobe is the more complete player. He makes his teammates better while LeBron is still going for legendary stats pounding the ball and his teammates watching.

Watch LeBron next time they play a top team and you'll see why they continually lose to good teams.

[HarlemHeat37]

That's not on Lebron, that's on poor coaching(another thing in favor of Kobe's team), and the fact that Lebron has nobody else on his team to run the offense while he plays off the ball..

Who the hell are they gonna trust? Mo Williams?! LOL..a 50-year old Shaq that looks horrible so far from a physical standpoint?..

[Allanon]

That's not on Lebron, that's on poor coaching(another thing in favor of Kobe's team), and the fact that Lebron has nobody else on his team to run the offense while he plays off the ball..

Who the hell are they gonna trust? Mo Williams?! LOL..a 50-year old Shaq that looks horrible so far from a physical standpoint?..

Yes, yes, yes, yes. LeBron should have trusted Big Z, Ben Wallace, Wally, Mo, Sasha Pavlovic, Boobie Gibson...everybody.

Kobe trusts Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, DJ mBenga, Adam Morrison, Shannon Brown...etc, etc.

That's the big difference between Kobe and LeBron and that is why Kobe is holding rings. This is why the Lakers will be perfectly fine without their 2nd best player.

[duhoh]

lebron needs a run offensive plays/sets. dude don't know how to run a play. he walks the ball up to the wings, and either runs into the paint, or pulls up a shot. too predictable. if he learns how to run a play or finish a play (hint Mike Brown), then he's allowed to be in the vs. kobe discussion.

look, vujacic and walton are two of the most useless players ever on a team. i would take boobie gibson and wally any day. which have rings?

[TheMACHINE]

That's not on Lebron, that's on poor coaching(another thing in favor of Kobe's team), and the fact that Lebron has nobody else on his team to run the offense while he plays off the ball..

Who the hell are they gonna trust? Mo Williams?! LOL..a 50-year old Shaq that looks horrible so far from a physical standpoint?..

why not trust them? I bet your the same people who crucified Kobe 3 years ago for not trusting Smush Parker, Brian Cook, Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown.

Kobe couldnt make those guys better...and for some reason Kobe cant make his teamates on this championship team better too huh?

[HarlemHeat37]

First of all, I never said Lebron didn't trust those guys..I said the Cavs team SHOULDN'T trust those guys to run their offense with Lebron playing off the ball, because none of those guys can effectively create for a team..big difference..so the fact that they have nobody else to create the offense is a big reason for their predictable offense that makes Lebron have to do everything, which in result limits their team success as a whole..

Lebron DOES trust his teammates, as you can see in any Cavs game..he's never had the Kobe problem..

Actually, if you look back at my history on RealGM, where I was a notorious Kobe hater for years, that was the one thing I never criticized Kobe for at all..he had bad teammates that he didn't trust, and there was no reason for him not to take a million shots a night..I never understood why people criticized him for that..I always criticized him for being a bad teammate, because he clearly was based on his off the court incidents, but I never understood why people would want him not to take a lot of shots with bad teammates like those..

Laker fans gave Kobe tons of excuses in 2004, 2005, and 2006,(actually, Kobe probably has the most excuses made for him of any NBA player in recent history) but now that Lebron is in a similar situation(in relative terms..obviously Lebron's current supporting cast is better than Kobe's was in 2005/2006), they criticize him for it..

[Allanon]

The problem with LeBron is he trusts his teammates when it's not important.

When the game's in the balance, fuck y'all, I'm gonna win this shit.

We've seen it countless times, LeBron does everything for that team in the crunch...it's awesome to watch but it's also the reason the Cavs are competing for the ECF Championship.

24 second possession for the Cavs in the crunch:
LeBron brings the ball up the court and pounds the ball for 10 seconds, move to the top of the key, pound for another 8 seconds then drive or shoot 3. Teammates clap, take family photographs with the King and say words of encouragement.

[TheMACHINE]

First of all, I never said Lebron didn't trust those guys..I said the Cavs team SHOULDN'T trust those guys to run their offense with Lebron playing off the ball, because none of those guys can effectively create for a team..big difference..so the fact that they have nobody else to create the offense is a big reason for their predictable offense that makes Lebron have to do everything, which in result limits their team success as a whole..

Lebron DOES trust his teammates, as you can see in any Cavs game..he's never had the Kobe problem..

Actually, if you look back at my history on RealGM, where I was a notorious Kobe hater for years, that was the one thing I never criticized Kobe for at all..he had bad teammates that he didn't trust, and there was no reason for him not to take a million shots a night..I never understood why people criticized him for that..I always criticized him for being a bad teammate, because he clearly was based on his off the court incidents, but I never understood why people would want him not to take a lot of shots with bad teammates like those..

Laker fans gave Kobe tons of excuses in 2004, 2005, and 2006,(actually, Kobe probably has the most excuses made for him of any NBA player in recent history) but now that Lebron is in a similar situation(in relative terms..obviously Lebron's current supporting cast is better than Kobe's was in 2005/2006), they criticize him for it..

so does kobe make his teammates better?

[HarlemHeat37]

I don't believe in "making teammates better" the way the media uses it..

I believe Kobe(outside of the infamous 2004 Finals) gets his teammates good shots and puts them in a good position to get easier baskets, particularly Gasol and Bynum..

[ginobili's bald spot]

I don't believe in "making teammates better" the way the media uses it..

I believe Kobe(outside of the infamous 2004 Finals) gets his teammates good shots and puts them in a good position to get easier baskets, particularly Gasol and Bynum..

Agreed.

[TheMACHINE]

I don't believe in "making teammates better" the way the media uses it..

I believe Kobe(outside of the infamous 2004 Finals) gets his teammates good shots and puts them in a good position to get easier baskets, particularly Gasol and Bynum..

and thats why i hate the "makes teamamtes better" cliche.

[senorglory]

LBJ just pulls up for 3s in clutch situations and hardly hits them. It annoys me a lot.

Seems like that's what Kobe did his first couple of seasons too.