Rolling Stone: Kobe Bryant is 'the third-best guy' behind Durant

[Frenzy]

I think the guy writing the article is just anxious to see another star. Of course the fans don't want to admit kobe is getting old. But he is.. He plays half games sometimes and lets the "team" play. Good role. But some fans would be like "oh no he can't be stopped he is just toying with the opponent".... Seriously?! the y kobe who lives for the spot light? I think not.... maybe the guy is tired and getting old. It's well known kobe likes to play on his words. Mess with the media sorta speak. He is getting up there in age....but odds are that's not what he would have the fans think,much less his opponents.

[Killakobe81]

I think the guy writing the article is just anxious to see another star. Of course the fans don't want to admit kobe is getting old. But he is.. He plays half games sometimes and lets the "team" play. Good role. But some fans would be like "oh no he can't be stopped he is just toying with the opponent".... Seriously?! the y kobe who lives for the spot light? I think not.... maybe the guy is tired and getting old. It's well known kobe likes to play on his words. Mess with the media sorta speak. He is getting up there in age....but odds are that's not what he would have the fans think,much less his opponents.

he is getting older ... he is not as explosive as he once was ...ANYONE can see that ...

and i hope my posts did not seem like i was taking aNYTHING away from Durant ... I think he is top 5 already behind Lebron, Howard kobe Wade with him and melo at the 5th spot ...but if forced to choose I would give melo the edge because hs post game is better and he has done it longer ...

I think the writer is right it wont be long before he passes Kobe but when he does he needs to pass those other guys as well ...to dismiss them is a disservice to those guys more than kobe. Kobe has been the best for a while now he is not ...no harm in that.

[ezau]

Couldn't care less about the league's number twos. It's good to hear that some Laker fans admit that James is already the league's best player

[KSeal]

I don't think there is a clear number two. LeBron is one. Then Wade, Kobe, Durant etc. You can make a case for a lot of them.

[Killakobe81]

Couldn't care less about the league's number twos. It's good to hear that some Laker fans admit that James is already the league's best player

why good? I said it last year ...all Lebron needs is a ring to validate him as the best anyone can see that but i dont think thegap is as wide as some think ...

[cobbler]

I don't care if you call Kobe the 20th best player in the league. All I care about is the and he's a winner.

If you have ever played or been involved in sports at any level much less the elite, you know there are players across the board statwise that are just "winners". So you all can have your Lebron's, Melo's, and Durant's and I'll take the Wade's and Kobe's.

Take Fisher for example. Not going to the HOF. Never will be mentioned as one of the great PG's. Statistically average. But he's a winner and he comes up big when needed. So many statboys look at the boxscore rather than actually watching the games and stats do not show heart, desire, determination, hustle etc. All attributes that I would place equal to or even higher than effeciency and advance stats.

Watch the games not the box scores.

[ezau]

I don't care if you call Kobe the 20th best player in the league. All I care about is the and he's a winner.

If you have ever played or been involved in sports at any level much less the elite, you know there are players across the board statwise that are just "winners". So you all can have your Lebron's, Melo's, and Durant's and I'll take the Wade's and Kobe's.

Take Fisher for example. Not going to the HOF. Never will be mentioned as one of the great PG's. Statistically average. But he's a winner and he comes up big when needed. So many statboys look at the boxscore rather than actually watching the games and stats do not show heart, desire, determination, hustle etc. All attributes that I would place equal to or even higher than effeciency and advance stats.

Watch the games not the box scores.

Fisher rode the coattails of Shaq in the early 2000s and not it's Kobe. The man is just lucky to play alongside two Hall-of-Famers his entire career. Where was that "winner" mentality when he was with the Jazz? He can't wait to pack his bags for LA while using his daughter as an excuse

[ezau]

why good? I said it last year ...all Lebron needs is a ring to validate him as the best anyone can see that but i dont think thegap is as wide as some think ...

Agree on that. The gap isn't as wide, but Lebron is still going to get better, while Kobe has pretty much reached his ceiling.

[cobbler]

Fisher rode the coattails of Shaq in the early 2000s and not it's Kobe. The man is just lucky to play alongside two Hall-of-Famers his entire career. Where was that "winner" mentality when he was with the Jazz? He can't wait to pack his bags for LA while using his daughter as an excuse

Apparently you didnt watch the Jazz play much. He was the starter in front of DWill.

Yes, he played alongside two hall of famers. And those two would be short a couple of LOB's without his heroics. ie... WINNING ways.

Bringing up the daughter thing is nothing short of bush league. It has been explained so many times what took place. That you choose to ignore reality just displays your ignorance more than anything else.

[ezau]

Apparently you didnt watch the Jazz play much. He was the starter in front of DWill.

Yes, he played alongside two hall of famers. And those two would be short a couple of LOB's without his heroics. ie... WINNING ways.

Bringing up the daughter thing is nothing short of bush league. It has been explained so many times what took place. That you choose to ignore reality just displays your ignorance more than anything else.

Thing is, Fisher is one of the most overrated role players of all time. Sure he made several big shots his entire career, but he doesn't deserve all the credit that he's getting. And while we're at it, are you telling me now that since Fisher has won championships, he's better than Lebron? You gotta be kidding me

[cobbler]

Thing is, Fisher is one of the most overrated role players of all time. Sure he made several big shots his entire career, but he doesn't deserve all the credit that he's getting. And while we're at it, are you telling me now that since Fisher has won championships, he's better than Lebron? You gotta be kidding me

Where in my post did I say Fisher is better than Lebron? I'm baffled how you could come up with that out of anything I posted.

You can call him overrated. Who cares? Fact is... he has come up with some very big shots to win huge games that led to championships that would not have been won without them. That's a winner in my book. Just like Horry. Good role player, not a superstar, but a winner when the cards are on the table.

[namlook]

Thing is, Fisher is one of the most overrated role players of all time. Sure he made several big shots .....

Making shots under pressure is a lot harder than you think. Fish has ice water in his veins. He was also a big reason the Lakers set an NBA record going 15-1 in the playoffs. He was unconscious from 3 during that run.

[alchemist]

not even Kevin Durant's mother buys this .

[alchemist]

As far as the debate on Fisher goes, I would love to have the mutha er on my team. He doesn't have the talent of a Reggie, Kobe or MJ but he's from the same bloodline, dude takes no mercy and will take a squat on your teams soul with those 3pt daggers.

[BRHornet45]

sons finally a decent article that isn't drinking that NBA/ESPN kool-aid. I'll give them props for not bowing down to the mainstream media's demand to put him at #1, but truth be told Kobe isn't even in the top 15 now days.

[ezau]

Durant's ceiling is crazy. ESPN/NBA has been feeding everybody that Kobe's still the league's best player. I think it's fair to say that he's slowly but surely declining, all the NBA seasons that he has played are finally taking their toll on his legs.

[rhyputa]

lol now it's durant to compare with

[ezau]

lol now it's durant to compare with

coz he's no longer good enough to be compared to James. It's as simple as that

[mogrovejo]

I don't care if you call Kobe the 20th best player in the league. All I care about is the and he's a winner.

If you have ever played or been involved in sports at any level much less the elite, you know there are players across the board statwise that are just "winners". So you all can have your Lebron's, Melo's, and Durant's and I'll take the Wade's and Kobe's.

Take Fisher for example. Not going to the HOF. Never will be mentioned as one of the great PG's. Statistically average. But he's a winner and he comes up big when needed. So many statboys look at the boxscore rather than actually watching the games and stats do not show heart, desire, determination, hustle etc. All attributes that I would place equal to or even higher than effeciency and advance stats.

Watch the games not the box scores.

Kobe won 1 championship as the best player in his team. And only when surrounded by a terrific supporting cast. Stop talking about him as he's Bill Russell redux. Plus, you shouldn't be denigrating Jerry West like that.

[mogrovejo]

coz he's no longer good enough to be compared to James. It's as simple as that

[duncan228]

Ellis better than LeBron?
Marc J. Spears

While Rolling Stone recently declared Kevin Durant better than Kobe Bryant, Warriors guard Monta Ellis has his own opinion on who should be ranked as the NBA’s three best players.

“I’m going to say LeBron James [third],” Ellis said recently. “He can do it all, pass, score, defend, block shots. No. 2, I would have to say, me. I can do a whole lot of things: defend, score, make passes, do whatever I need to do.

“No. 1, I’d say Kobe Bryant. There isn’t one player that can stop Kobe one-on-one. He has a lot of stuff. He can defend. And of course, he won four championships.”