Like I've said all along, Kobe has the sheer talent to be in that type of discussion, but IMO he has screwed the pooch when he had the opportunity to be the 1st option on a Finals team:
- 2004 vs Pistons, took too many shots, shot 37% or some such and got crushed
- The current struggle on both offense and defense, culminating in last night's choke job
Jordan almost always peaked in the NBA Finals, but Kobe has struggled in the biggest stage of them all. His legacy is still a that of a great talent who was second banana on 3 le teams (thanks to the choking Blazers in 2000 and some horrible officiating in 2002). Unless he pulls off something special in the next 3 games, his Finals record looks very unflattering indeed.