in terms of defense, passing, and hustle on both ends of the court
On the bright side he still have a good many years to improve on that, to make him an even more complete player and with the lakers healthy over the next few years, they will be unstoppable.
What? Kobe is older than Duncan in terms of both seasons and minutes played, and athletic shooting guards games fall off a cliff right around 32 or 33. Kobe's college adjusted age is 34. He does NOT have "a good many more years". He has maybe 2 years left at a high level, although I'm sure he'll play longer than that.
Kobe is 29 now, soon to be 30. At this age Jordan was dominating the league, and had his best years. Unless you are Steve Nash, guards hardly get any better when they are past 30.
What you see is what you get with Kobe, a Top 15 player of all time, but that's probably it.
kobe is only 29, he have at least 3 more years before he peak, jordan retired at 32 and still came back to win 3 more with the bulls, kobe have never had to lead a team to a finals yet, this will be a learning experience for him and he will come back an improved player next year, guaranteed.
The year Jordan turned 30, he had played 8 complete seasons. Kobe already has played 12 seasons.
which explains why he is in healthier shape than almost any players in the league, he had the years of workouts to be as durable as he is, it's not a matter of seasons played, it's a matter of age catching up to you, and kobe has a good few years before peaking, is that so hard to swallow? from a spurs fan i am not surprise by now
No, it's about NBA mileage/minutes on a high flying body. Players retire because their body begins to break down, not because they don't want to play anymore. It's all about NBA minutes, not chronological age.which explains why he is in healthier shape than almost any players in the league, he had the years of workouts to be as durable as he is, it's not a matter of seasons played, it's a matter of age catching up to you, and kobe has a good few years before peaking, is that so hard to swallow? from a spurs fan i am not surprise by now
If you think Kobe hasn't hit his peak yet, well, from a laker fan i am not surprise by now.
lol convince yourself all you want, i prefer taking the scientific aproach, of how at the age of 29 your body is still constantly producing growth hormones and able to shape itself around the wear and tears of regular nba seasons and even condition it further, ask yourself why athletes risk getting banned by taking growth hormones or risk their balls shrinking by taking speed type steroids, it's not untill 32 that you have deficiency in these things that your body starts to degenerate, but like i said think what you like.
Your bone caps close at 25 when HGH production all but stops, but keep believing otherwise if that's what you like
You also need to understand that players who love to jump have their legs break down in their earlier than other players. This is the reason why LeBron and Wade will be washed up by around 31-32 or so. Kobe is the same way and since he played 12 seasons already, we'll see his game go downhill VERY soon. Trust me. Once the legs go, a lot of other things follow because your legs are very important.
I think Kobe has a lot of good years left in him and I don't think wear and tear has much to do with how many seasons you've played. In fact, I laugh at that idea. Especially since Kobe is one of the most fit and hardest working players in the league. The guys who break down early are the guys who don't work. Currently, there isn't a player in the NBA who takes care of his body like Kobe does.
Why do you think in 2004 Karl Malone was still one of the best PF's in the league at 40 years old and 20 seasons deep? Because he worked his ass off like nobody else. In fact the only reason he got hurt that year is because scrub ass Pat Burke fell on his knee in a freak accident. Same with MJ. Kobe's the same way- he'll go forever.
Kobe won't have to carry the team next season when Bynum returns so he should be able to save his body as the years go by. His game is so advanced he doesn't rely on his athleticism as much anymore to score. His arsenal of moves is unmatched in the NBA and he can score from pretty much any position.
Lebron is the one that needs to worry, because his game is entirely about his athleticism. If he doesn't develop he will turn into D Wade 2.0.
I'd go with Magic Johnson's quote "Your knees only have so many jumps in them", when he was commenting on Vince Carter. Pretty soon you'll see Kobe shooting more and taking it to the hoop less.
Kobe doesn't jump as it is. He dunks a lot less than he used to, a lot, so let's not pretend he's just some high flyer that only gets by on his verticle. It's like Dazed said, he doesn't rely on his athleticism much, not to say that he couldn't, but he doesn't. In any case, Vince Carter he is not.
True, but the notion that he hasn't peaked yet which is what the original poster is saying, is foolish. It's true that Jordan came back at 32, and still was really good until 34 when he won his sixth ring, however everybody will agree that the best Jordan was that of 90-93, when he is Kobe's age now. Kobe has peaked, it's a ridicolous high peak, but he isn't going any further.
As for how long he will last, well Kobe and KG are the first of the high school generation kids (therefore the first evidence on which to value this theory) and they don't show a lot of slowing down compared to other players their age. Maybe that notion is a bit outdated after all.
The Malone comparison is invalid. Big men age better than wings. You can find scores of big men who play into their late 30s and even some into their early 40s. Wings and little guys rarely play past 33-34.
Then it's a good thing the Lakers are grooming a 20 year old big man to take over the show when Kobe declines. 7 foot centers with his athleticism, length, and soft touch don't grow on trees.
one more thing about the myth, that is "MJ would've have never failed in that...and Kobe did". People fail to realize that MJ was able to put up amazing numbers in his 1st few seasons, yet the Bulls best record before Pippen was 42-40. MJ's best playoff run without Pippen was 1-4 to the Bucks in his rookie season. The next 2 playoff runs as "the man" with no help, he was swept twice by the Celtics. And I use "he" purposely. Guys like Bruce Blitz down Kobe by saying he had Shaq and look at Kobe's FG% but don't point out the era of zone Kobe is in and contiously calls this era soft.He excludes that Kobe gets handchecked so much he might as well be in the 90s era.He doesn't mention that MJ DID have 2 solid front court players in Cartwright and Horace Grant. He fails to mention, that during MJ's 2nd 3peat he had Rodman, a 18 PPG rebounder at one point and Scottie Pippen a top 50 Player of all time, playing tenacious D. MJ rarely had to hold the opposing team's best scorer....lol, and was hardly the ideal teammate. You're right, Kobe's better than we think, but it won't be appreciated til he's gone.
You forgot:
...and a broken knee that seem to take an eternity to heal...
What is with you people? Seriously.
Lot's of incorrect information in this thread as well as correct info. Like someone said, your bone caps close at 25 for men but hgh production doesn't stop then or at 32 or anything like that. Growth hormone production slows after you stop growing, but doesn't ever completely stop. It's a necessary hormone that is used to for other things such as healing from an injury. Your growth hormone really takes a big dive around 40, which is why lot's of middle aged people are starting to take hgh injections in order to "feel young again." Some people consider it like a real life fountain of youth.
I don't buy any theory about Kobe having an "adjusted" age, with logging more games and seasons at a younger age.
Kobe is the type of player and athlete that is obsessive-compulsive about his conditioning and diet year round. When he's been injured, he gets surgery asap with the exception of this season so he could play in the playoffs and the Olympics. He rehabs as hard as any player. Kobe is the prototypical athlete that can play at a high level well past the age where other players start to decline because of those things. He's similar to Karl Malone or Reggie Miller, in both weight training and cardio-conditioning respectively. Kobe should remain an elite player well into his late 30s.
Thats just ing stupid
I call Lebron a more complete player than Kobe, and especially in terms of where they are/were at in their careers at the same age.
yea this is true, i was about to post this too.. just finished biochemistry in human topics this past quarter.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
