Is Kobe even top 5 anymore?

[daspurs]

lol

[rayjayjohnson]

lolduncan

[Killakobe81]

lolduncan

Exactly. And who cares? Even if you wan t to say top 10 for Kobe, at his age that is STILL impressive.

[hater]

not even

[lefty]

Yes still top 5

[baseline bum]

Nope

James
Howard
Wade
Durant
Dirk

[lefty]

Nope

James
Howard
Wade
Durant
Dirk
Howard? rofl

[hater]

nobody can possibly say Kobe is better than this bunch:
Rose
Dirk
James
Durant
Dwight
CP3
Deron


Kobe is still top 10 I guess.this will probably change this coming season

[stretch]

Yes, Kobe absolutely still is top 5 you fucking dumbasses.

Gosh I can't believe I will actually be somewhat pulling for the Lakers this year. Sick of the Kobe hate. He is going to have a nice season, maybe his best in the past 3-4 years.

[lefty]

nobody can possibly say Kobe is better than this bunch:
Rose
Dirk
James
Durant
Dwight
CP3
Deron


Kobe is still top 10 I guess.this will probably change this coming season
I know you are trolling :D

Kobe is better than Dwight and Deron and Durant


COme on now

[JamStone]

Maybe not, probably not anymore. But he's perhaps right around the 5 range.

[hater]

I know you are trolling :D

Kobe is better than Dwight and Deron and Durant


COme on now

you seriously would pick Kobe right now over picking Dwight, Deron, Durant???

:wow

didnt you see what Barea did to him?

[JamStone]

Guess LeBron and Wade aren't top 5 either then. Did you see what JJ did to them and the Heat in games 5 and 6 of the Finals?

[hater]

Barea came back to earth after he finished off the Lakers.

plus, note I didn't put Wade in my list. Wade is too 1 dimensional. Kobe even today is as good.

Lebron is better than Kobe mainly because of his physique. unstopable physique, except for the testicles.

[Killakobe81]

nobody can possibly say Kobe is better than this bunch:
Rose
Dirk
James
Durant
Dwight
CP3
Deron


Kobe is still top 10 I guess.this will probably change this coming season

Based off last regular season ... Paul and Dwill are NOT better than Kobe. Paul beatsed for a few games in the playoffs but if you think he was a better player last year you know jack about ball ...Dwill was hurt most of the year.

[baseline bum]

Yes, Kobe absolutely still is top 5 you fucking dumbasses.

Gosh I can't believe I will actually be somewhat pulling for the Lakers this year. Sick of the Kobe hate. He is going to have a nice season, maybe his best in the past 3-4 years.

The only player I could see Kobe bumping out of my top 5 list is Dirk, but he gets the benefit of the doubt for last year's playoff run. I still think he's better than Rose, Paul, or DWill though.

[Bill_Brasky]

nobody can possibly say Kobe is better than this bunch:
Rose No
Dirk Yes
James Yes
Durant Arguable
Dwight No
CP3 Rofl
Deron Rofl


Kobe is still top 10 I guess.this will probably change this coming season

[JamStone]

Barea came back to earth after he finished off the Lakers.

plus, note I didn't put Wade in my list. Wade is too 1 dimensional. Kobe even today is as good.

Lebron is better than Kobe mainly because of his physique. unstopable physique, except for the testicles.

Barea had one great game against the Lakers, game 4. He was solid in the series, but that game 4 has you thinking he dominated the Lakers all 4 games of the sweep. He had an even better game in game 1 against the Thunder in the next series, particularly because he scored nearly as much in only 16 minutes. And then you ignore what he did in games 5 and 6 of the Finals.

Your memory of Barea against the Lakers pretty much comes from about a 15 minute stretch in the second half of game 4, during which the Mavs had already dismantled the Lakers and were already leading by 20+ points.

Barea was awesome in the playoffs, at opportune times too, not just against the Lakers. Your use of him as an example to gauge how good Kobe is or is not probably is skewed quite a bit.

[baseline bum]

Why is everyone underrating Dwight Howard so much here? Because he could end up on the Lakers? A bigman who grabs 14 boards, blocks 2.5 shots, isn't a foul machine, and has a pulse on the offensive end is pretty fucking valuable.

[DMC]

Why is everyone underrating Dwight Howard so much here? Because he could end up on the Lakers? A bigman who grabs 14 boards, blocks 2.5 shots, isn't a foul machine, and has a pulse on the offensive end is pretty fucking valuable.
I remember that Shaq wasn't the Orlando Shaq after a short time in LA, but that was under Phil. I don't see Mike Brown getting Howard to drop that candy ass mindset. Howard reminds me of a Rottweiler afraid of a chihuahua because he doesn't realize how dominant he can actually be.

He's not Shaq, but he could dominate a game if he had the right mindset and team.

[stretch]

The only player I could see Kobe bumping out of my top 5 list is Dirk, but he gets the benefit of the doubt for last year's playoff run. I still think he's better than Rose, Paul, or DWill though.

Hm, Durant? Howard?

I'd certainly take Kobe over a one dimensional scorer who has been locked up in the playoffs in back-to-back years by good defensive players (Artest/Marion), and has a worse shot selection than Kobe has ever had.

As for Howard, I can understand why people would build a team around him, but IMO he is arguably the most overrated player in the NBA. Still has no post game, gets shut down in one-on-one defense, and has no skillsets of use in crunch-time. If I could build a team around Kobe and a very solid center, or Howard and a very solid wing player, I'll take Kobe/solid center all day, as he has won 2 championships with that build (Pau Gasol), while Howard has had multiple solid wing players (Vince Carter, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis), and only has one finals appearance, and got stomped by Kobe and co. in the process.

[Monostradamus]

I'll still take Kobe over anybody else in the league.

[DPG21920]

Dwight has a very much improved post game, Stretch.

[Monostradamus]

I see alot of Durant overrating too. The guy is great but you're retarded if you take him over Kobe. He's a chucker, still too weak to beat a tough physical defender, shitty passer, average rebounder, average defender, racks up points just using his cheap ass swing move to draw fouls, and in crunch time he lets Russell Westbrook take over games (lmao). What part of that screams "top 5 player"?

[stretch]

Dwight has a very much improved post game, Stretch.

It's improved, but certainly not improved enough to vault him as a better basketball player than Kobe Bryant, who is one of the best all around players the NBA has ever seen.

It certainly wasn't good enough to overcome Artest and Marion over the past two years, who are two very good but not transcendent defenders, while Durant is billed as a transcendent scorer.

[stretch]

I see alot of Durant overrating too. The guy is great but you're retarded if you take him over Kobe. He's a chucker, still too weak to beat a tough physical defender, shitty passer, average rebounder, average defender, racks up points just using his cheap ass swing move to draw fouls, and in crunch time he lets Russell Westbrook take over games (lmao). What part of that screams "top 5 player"?

These are my biggest issues. He probably averages 4-6 points a game off of that stupid swing-through move alone. But when he faces physical defenders, he withers and starts chucking bad jumpers even more often than he usually does.

[DPG21920]

Huh, are you talking Dwight or KD

[NewcastleKEG]

nobody can possibly say Kobe is better than this bunch:
Rose
Dirk
James
Durant
Dwight
CP3
Deron


Kobe is still top 10 I guess.this will probably change this coming season
Agreed. Although I'd still put Kobe ahead of Deron considering last season & Williams' struggles this off season in Turkey

[stretch]

Huh, are you talking Dwight or KD

wtf are you talking about

[DeadlyDynasty]

Yes, Kobe absolutely still is top 5 you fucking dumbasses.

Gosh I can't believe I will actually be somewhat pulling for the Lakers this year. Sick of the Kobe hate. He is going to have a nice season, maybe his best in the past 3-4 years.

This. I have a feeling he's going to have a beast season, and not just because of the supposedly great knee therapies/operations. He's playing with house money this year--the Heat and Bulls garner most of the attention in the East while the Mavs are the defending champs out West.

The whole team will come back stronger after last year's embarrassing playoff showing. These are just a couple of the reasons why I think LAL will make it back to the finals this season. I doubt they beat Miami (unless they make a couple moves), but I see them having a great year.

[DPG21920]

Your response to my Dwight has an improved post game comment sounds like a mix of Howard and KD

[FkLA]

1.James
2.Dwight
3.Wade
4.Dirk
5.Rose

Kobe had a pretty subpar season last year for his standards tbh. His FG% was low even for him and I saw him actually have alittle trouble getting shots off over athletic defenders...age is finally catching up to him and its great to see. I only see that getting worse, I dont see why people expect him to magically turn back the clock.

[NewcastleKEG]

1.James
2.Dwight
3.Wade
4.Dirk
5.Rose

Kobe had a pretty subpar season last year for his standards tbh. His FG% was low even for him and I saw him actually have alittle trouble getting shots off over athletic defenders...age is finally catching up to him and its great to see. I only see that getting worse, I dont see why people expect him to magically turn back the clock.
The argument is he finally got all his injuries taken care of & he was able to sit around this off season. Plus he'll be more driven to prove the doubters wrong.

I buy the first part but how can Kobe be more driven. I think he's reached his peak.
We all watched Game 7 of the 2010 Finals. Guy is declining and quick

[stretch]

Your response to my Dwight has an improved post game comment sounds like a mix of Howard and KD

Oh, I misread Dwight as Durant, haha. I have failed again.

[FkLA]

As for Howard, I can understand why people would build a team around him, but IMO he is arguably the most overrated player in the NBA. Still has no post game, gets shut down in one-on-one defense, and has no skillsets of use in crunch-time. If I could build a team around Kobe and a very solid center, or Howard and a very solid wing player, I'll take Kobe/solid center all day, as he has won 2 championships with that build (Pau Gasol), while Howard has had multiple solid wing players (Vince Carter, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis), and only has one finals appearance, and got stomped by Kobe and co. in the process.


I'll still take Kobe over anybody else in the league.

I see mavfags takes havent gotten any better...

[baseline bum]

Hm, Durant? Howard?

I'd certainly take Kobe over a one dimensional scorer who has been locked up in the playoffs in back-to-back years by good defensive players (Artest/Marion), and has a worse shot selection than Kobe has ever had.


That's true about Durant having bad series vs Dallas/LA, but if you apply that standard to Kobe in his Dallas and Boston series he comes out smelling pretty bad too. I also don't think the shortened season is going to kind to players with lots of mileage like Kobe. If I'm coaching Durant, I know I can depend on a solid 40 minutes a night.



As for Howard, I can understand why people would build a team around him, but IMO he is arguably the most overrated player in the NBA. Still has no post game, gets shut down in one-on-one defense, and has no skillsets of use in crunch-time. If I could build a team around Kobe and a very solid center, or Howard and a very solid wing player, I'll take Kobe/solid center all day, as he has won 2 championships with that build (Pau Gasol), while Howard has had multiple solid wing players (Vince Carter, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis), and only has one finals appearance, and got stomped by Kobe and co. in the process.

Saying he has no post-game is a stretch, and he still scores a lot inside cleaning up his team's mistakes. Carter, Turkoglu, Nelson, and Lewis are all 3 point bombers who don't do much else; it's hard to compare their talent levels to a well-rounded big like Gasol.

[DPG21920]

Dwight's post game has DRAMATICALLY improved since he's entered the league IMO. He is no slouch down low and don't confuse the fact he gets a lot of dunks with the notion he has no skill. He is not Hakeem, but he has an array of very effective moves and is a legit threat on the offensive end.

[Deuce Bigalow]

1.James
2.Dwight
3.Wade
4.Dirk
5.Rose

Kobe had a pretty subpar season last year for his standards tbh. His FG% was low even for him and I saw him actually have alittle trouble getting shots off over athletic defenders...age is finally catching up to him and its great to see. I only see that getting worse, I dont see why people expect him to magically turn back the clock.

fuck you

[stretch]

That's true about Durant having bad series vs Dallas/LA, but if you apply that standard to Kobe in his Dallas and Boston series he comes out smelling pretty bad too. I also don't think the shortened season is going to kind to players with lots of mileage like Kobe. If I'm coaching Durant, I know I can depend on a solid 40 minutes a night.

It wasnt just having a bad series. He was flat out locked down and visibly flustered in both series.

[stretch]

Dwight's post game has DRAMATICALLY improved since he's entered the league IMO. He is no slouch down low and don't confuse the fact he gets a lot of dunks with the notion he has no skill. He is not Hakeem, but he has an array of very effective moves and is a legit threat on the offensive end.

Yes he has improved, and is a threat, but (right now) not enough for me to take him over Kobe, Lebron, Wade, or Dirk.

[DPG21920]

It's debatable, but his impact on both ends does it for me.

[stretch]

Saying he has no post-game is a stretch, and he still scores a lot inside cleaning up his team's mistakes. Carter, Turkoglu, Nelson, and Lewis are all 3 point bombers who don't do much else; it's hard to compare their talent levels to a well-rounded big like Gasol.

Also, Lewis is the only one of those guys who is a 3pt bomber that doesn't do much else. VC has always had a very versatile skillset, and Hedo has always had one of the most well rounded games in the NBA (just lacks athetic ability).

[ezau]

No trolling, I will not be surprised if the Lakers go out with guns blazing in the first half of the season. The core is still there and that core knows how to win championships together. The biggest question mark is that clown Mike Brown drawing the Xs and Os for the Lakers.

[stretch]

It's debatable, but his impact on both ends does it for me.

He definitely has a great impact on both ends, but hasn't proven he's much of a leader. He still picks up dumb fouls at dumb times, and is rather nonexistent in the clutch.

[DPG21920]

Except against the spurs :cry

26XM7UZYSDM

[Stalin]

1.James
2.Dwight
3.Wade
4.Dirk
5.Rose

Kobe had a pretty subpar season last year for his standards tbh. His FG% was low even for him and I saw him actually have alittle trouble getting shots off over athletic defenders...age is finally catching up to him and its great to see. I only see that getting worse, I dont see why people expect him to magically turn back the clock.

Co sign

[Monostradamus]

Except against the spurs :cry

26XM7UZYSDM

Ahh the dunk that propelled an everyday shitty poster into a trolling legend.

[redzero]

LeBron, Wade, Dwight, and Dirk are better right now. If Durant stops letting Westbrook hog the ball at the end of games, I'll put him in the top five, too.

[cobbler]

Talking about a guy in his 16th season with the mileage he has as a top 10 player is nothing short of amazing!

All good for us!

[ElNono]

Was he ever, tbh? I have him penciled in for top 3 all-time coattailer behind Kerr and Horry...

[redzero]

Not Paul love? Wonder why...:lol

If Paul plays like he did in the playoffs last season, he'll definitely be in the top five. Until then...

[redzero]

Oh, sick burn, bro.

Oh wait, you're still a 29-year-old loser regardless of what team Paul plays on.

Do you actually have any good smack talk, or do you honestly believe that bringing up an athlete is going to hurt my feelings?

[lefty]

http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/728337241/conan_4cred_normal.jpg
ConanOBrien (http://twitter.com/#%21/ConanOBrien) Conan O'Brien



Kobe Bryant has a lot of work to do to get ready for the season. We just played one-on-one, and he only beat me 200-4.

8 hours ago (http://twitter.com/#%21/ConanOBrien/status/142483974437093377) [/URL] (http://twitter.com/#)[URL="http://twitter.com/#"] (http://twitter.com/#)

[DAF86]

Yes, Kobe absolutely still is top 5 you fucking dumbasses.

Gosh I can't believe I will actually be somewhat pulling for the Lakers this year. Sick of the Kobe hate. He is going to have a nice season, maybe his best in the past 3-4 years.

God, you're such a faggot. Stick to lol comments 'cause your sports opinions are shit and everybody here knows it.

[DAF86]

Paul
Wade
Lebron
Dirk
Dwight

the best five players in the league play all in different positions.

[stretch]

God, you're such a faggot. Stick to lol comments 'cause your sports opinions are shit and everybody here knows it.

Name your list of 5 better basketball players than Kobe, and list your reason's why for each player. Convince me that there are 5 better basketball players than Kobe Bryant, you stupid "manu > dirk" believing faggot.

[Killakobe81]

Paul
Wade
Lebron
Dirk
Dwight

the best five players in the league play all in different positions.

I dont get why Paul ... simply based off a few great playoff games get puts back in to top 5 staus over rose, Durant or Kobe. I do say he has moved back over Dwill ...based on Dwill's season last year ...but to say Paul is top 5 right now is more debateable than Kobe.

Not saying he may not continue his hot run against the Lakers but based off the year as a whole he is NOT top 5 ...

[DAF86]

I dont get why Paul ... simply based off a few great playoff games get puts back in to top 5 staus over rose, Durant or Kobe. I do say he has moved back over Dwill ...based on Dwill's season last year ...but to say Paul is top 5 right now is more debateable than Kobe.

Not saying he may not continue his hot run against the Lakers but based off the year as a whole he is NOT top 5 ...

I'm not basing Paul as a top 5 player on some playoffs games, I'm basing it on what I see him do on the court since he got to this level back in '08, Paul is the best PG in the laegue by far, he's efficient, unselfish, makes his teammates better, has a great BB IQ, is very important on defense too (at this point of theirs respective careers, he's a hell of a lot more important than Kobe in that end of the court) and is a leader.

Rose is the most overrated player in the World right now, I would even place old shit bag Kobe ahead of Rose (among a lot of other players).

[stretch]

Rose is the most overrated player in the World right now, I would even place old shit bag Kobe ahead of Rose (among a lot of other players).

At least we agree on one thing... Rose is massively overrated.

[JamStone]

I'm curious about Dirk in the top 5. Not that he definitely isn't, but I think it's debatable. Is it just because he led his team to a championship last year and so he automatically deserves that? Dirk is still a great scorer. But he's also still somewhat one-dimensional as a player, despite having improved on defense. And in the Finals, he did shoot 33% in game 6 and under 42% from the field for the entire Finals series. Other star players might get criticized for that.

Personally, I view Dirk similarly to Kobe in that both have an argument to still be in the top 5 in the league. But both are right on the border and I wouldn't argue much against anyone saying neither is top 5 anymore.

[DAF86]

Dirk shot 51% and scored 1,4 pts per FG attempt.

Kobe shot 45% and scored 1,2 pts per FG attempt.

If you're going to be one dimensional at least be great at that thing that you do.

[stretch]

I'm curious about Dirk in the top 5. Not that he definitely isn't, but I think it's debatable. Is it just because he led his team to a championship last year and so he automatically deserves that? Dirk is still a great scorer. But he's also still somewhat one-dimensional as a player, despite having improved on defense. And in the Finals, he did shoot 33% in game 6 and under 42% from the field for the entire Finals series. Other star players might get criticized for that.

Personally, I view Dirk similarly to Kobe in that both have an argument to still be in the top 5 in the league. But both are right on the border and I wouldn't argue much against anyone saying neither is top 5 anymore.

Good assessment.

Personally, I've said Dirk is top 5 even before this, although I could understand why people say otherwise.

And as for his Finals performances, he didn't have a great overall shooting performance, but in every single game, when they needed big shots from him late in the game (including game 6), he came through for them, and had two game winning buckets.

But people leaving Kobe out of the top 5 for guys like Dwight Howard or Kevin Durant, is just insane. If talking about building for future, sure. But in terms of a pure basketball player RIGHT NOW, the only guy I would consider ahead of Kobe is Lebron.

[stretch]

Dirk shot 51% and scored 1,4 pts per FG attempt.

Kobe shot 45% and scored 1,2 pts per FG attempt.

If you're going to be one dimensional at least be great at that thing that you do.

If a smelly argy be@ner like you is going to attempt to type english, at least understand something as simple as punctuation.

[DAF86]

Dwight is arguably the best player in the league, how could it be insane to consider him ahead of Kobe?

I think pretty much everybody would agree that Howard is the most important player on defense, then look at his numbers on the ofensive end and I really don't see how could anyone think that is isane to place Howard ahead of any guy in the World.

[stretch]

Dwight is arguably the best player in the league, how could it be insane to consider him ahead of Kobe?

I think pretty much everybody would agree that Howard is the most important player on defense, then look at his numbers on the ofensive end and I really don't see how could anyone think that is isane to place Howard ahead of any guy in the World.

:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin

[cobbler]

Top 5 what? Scoring? Defense? Overall play? Again, you are debating about a guy in his 16th season with like 20 seasons mileage as a top 5 player? Absolutely amazing IMO.

And as far as winning titles... Right now he's #1. :toast

[DAF86]

If a smelly argy be@ner like you is going to attempt to type english, at least understand something as simple as punctuation.

Crofl shitty opinion giver faggot resorting to grammar smack against a non native English speaker.

I don't see anything wrong with that post tbh.

[DAF86]

:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin

Congrats, you have made your best post in this thread.

[stretch]

Top 5 what? Scoring? Defense? Overall play? Again, you are debating about a guy in his 16th season with like 20 seasons mileage as a top 5 player? Absolutely amazing IMO.

Personally, when I rank top current players, I put them in order of guys I would build a team around at this point in time (not taking future into consideration). When you just rank them in terms of overall ability, then intangibles end up thrown out of the window.

For instance, Dwight Howard is probably the most overall productive player in basketball, in terms of how he affects the game on both ends. But there are a lot of things teams need that he does not really give, such as strong leadership, clutch play, and court intelligence. Those are what gives guys such as Kobe, Dirk, and Wade an edge over a guy like Howard when it comes to building a team, IMO.

[stretch]

manu > dirk & kobe

and you have the nuts to accuse another poster of having shitty opinions, when this is your belief?

[cobbler]

Personally, when I rank top current players, I put them in order of guys I would build a team around at this point in time (not taking future into consideration). When you just rank them in terms of overall ability, then intangibles end up thrown out of the window.

For instance, Dwight Howard is probably the most overall productive player in basketball, in terms of how he affects the game on both ends. But there are a lot of things teams need that he does not really give, such as strong leadership, clutch play, and court intelligence. Those are what gives guys such as Kobe, Dirk, and Wade an edge over a guy like Howard when it comes to building a team, IMO.

Agreed! :toast