Lakers' Kobe Bryant must perform more tricks to equal Magic

[tlongII]

http://www.oregonlive.com/nba/index....st_perfor.html

Before the champagne began to flow following the Los Angeles Lakers victory over Boston in Game 7 of the NBA Finals Thursday night, talk began filling the airwaves that Kobe Bryant had earned a statue outside of the Staples Center and had surpassed Magic Johnson as the greatest Laker of all time.

Statue? Fine.

Passing the Magic man? Hardly.

It’s a common occurrence for media and fans to anoint anything new as the best ever. Typically it's done done out of laziness and forgetfulness.

This is not like comparing the iPod to the Walkman. That is no contest. Comparing Kobe to Magic is a bit more complicated. Both have five NBA les and were considered one of the best, if not the best of their respective eras. But in the end, Magic still shines brighter.

Here are the many reasons why:

Magic’s unique impact

Magic resides in a category all his own. He was a 6-9 point guard with gazelle-like speed and incredible ball skills who orchestrated his team like no other before or since.

Kobe-types are not rare. Wings standing about 6-6 who shoot a lot are a dime a dozen. Few have been as great as Kobe, but Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Jerry West, Clyde Drexler, George Gervin, Pete Maravich, Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor certainly fit the mold.

Nobody fits in Magic’s world.

And let’s not forget that the NBA was on the brink of disaster when Magic and Larry Bird entered the league in 1979. Drug scandals, listless play and fan apathy threatened to send the league into obscurity.

Playoff games either were not aired at all or were done so on tape delayed broadcasts starting as late as 11:30 p.m. It wasn’t until the Magic-Bird rivalry took off that cable television got involved resulting in the airing of mid-week playoff games in prime time.

Jordan, of course, took the league to new heights. But the renaissance began with Magic and Bird.

Magic never a sidekick.

Kobe said Sunday that he doesn’t like to use the phrase “side kick” when describing teammates. Maybe that’s because he once was one.

Make no mistake, Shaquille O’Neal was the driving force behind Kobe’s first three les and was named Finals MVP all three times.

During their first Finals together in 2000, Shaq averaged 38.0 points and 16.7 rebounds per game against Indiana.

Shaq's dominance led to their feud and ultimately their demise as a duo.

Magic never catered to anyone. Sure, Former Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the league’s all-time leading scorer, was certainly a force during much of his run with Magic. But Abdul-Jabbar wasn’t nearly the force Shaq was and his production had significantly dropped off by the time the Lakers repeated in 1988.

When Abdul-Jabbar was forced to miss Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals at Philadelphia with a sprained foot, Magic played some center and scored 42 points with 15 rebounds and eight assists in a game a NBA.com article ranked as the greatest Finals performance ever.

After Abdul-Jabbar retired, Magic kept the Lakers in contention and led them back to the Finals a couple of years later.

Kobe missed the playoffs entirely in 2005, the year after Shaq was traded to Miami (2004-2005). Despite averaging a career-high 35.6 points per game the following year, the Lakers were a No. 7 seed in the West.

Magic was an underrate scorer

Truly the only element that makes this even a debate is Kobe's abilities as a pure scorer. He has four scoring les.

But Magic entered the league at 20 as a dominant orchestrator who chose not to score. That cost Magic MVP consideration the first seven years of his career.

In 1986 when then-Lakers coach Pat Riley asked Magic to score more often, he raised his average from 18.9 the previous year to 23.7 while still averaging 12.1 assists and received the first of his three MVP trophies. Magic finished second in the voting two other times and third four times, all in the era of Bird and Jordan.

Magic easily could have averaged 30 points per game while maintaining a 10 assists average had he been required to do so. In the same vane, if you asked Kobe to get 10 assists per game, he certainly could. But the point here is that there were no limitations to Magic’s game.

Kobe is probably a better defender. But Magic did rank in the top 10 in steals four times with a high of No. 3 in 1981-82.

Magic defeated legends

Magic won les against legends in their prime. He defeated Dr. J twice, Larry Bird twice and Isaiah Thomas once. All three won les either before or after losing to Magic’s Lakers and won at least once against Magic. Magic’s last Finals appearance resulted in a loss to Jordan’s Bulls.

Kobe in the Finals has defeated New Jersey, Philadelphia, Indiana, Orlando and Boston. Only the Celtics, with three Hall of Famers (maybe four when Rajon Rondo is done) and a recent le, could be considered anything close to a great team.

But even they don't stack up to the team's Magic faced in the finals. In fact, how would Kobe’s Lakers measure up against those teams? Not well.
Magic the leader


This is where I call “checkmate.”

Kobe couldn’t handle Shaq being the best player on the team and even though he has clearly matured, he’s done so on his terms.

Magic would never have complained about playing with Shaq because Magic was only about winning.

Kobe is about winning his way.

After he effectively ran off Shaq and the Lakers failed to make the playoffs, Kobe began to squabble with management, searching for a scapegoat. In fact, Kobe had one foot out of the door just two years ago.

Magic could not have cared less if Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy or Byron Scott averaged more points than he did. And all three did at some point.

Kobe has only truly been happy when it was all about Kobe. It was part of his desire to be like Mike. But Jordan was thrust into the position of carrying his team for most years. Kobe created his own martyrdom.

Plus, Magic truly made teammates better. He elevated the play of Worthy and Scott and revitalized Abdul-Jabbar’s career in his later years.

Kobe’s mere presence certainly helps those around him. But has he truly ever made anyone better through his direct actions on the court like Magic did?

New NBA Math

Over the past few years we have been introduced to new ways of measuring a player’s overall impact on the game beyond simple points, rebounds and assists.

I’m not in a position to determine the validity of such new formulas but it is clear that Magic tops Kobe in most categories. Take it for what it's worth.

Offensive rating (used to measure either a team's offensive performance and efficiency at producing points).

Magic 120.8 (3rd all-time)
Kobe 112 (96th)

Player Efficiency Rating (boils down a player's contributions into one number).

Magic 24.1 (12th)
Kobe 23.5 (17th)

Win Shares

Magic 155.8 (17th)
Kobe 145.9 (20th)

Offensive Win Shares

Magic 110.6 (13th)
Kobe 104.5 (15th)

Defensive Win Shares

Magic 45.2 (50)
Kobe 41.3 (74th)

AP Photo/John SwartMichael Jordan, shown here during the 1992 NBA Finals against Portland, was the driving force behind six championship teams.

Kobe can’t see Jordan

Jordan surpassed Magic and Bird and Kobe is in the discussion with the latter two. But Kobe will never touch Jordan.

I only bring this up because some have dared to cross this line and that disturbs me.

Kobe is a carbon copy of Jordan. From his walk to his arm band to the way he talks to the way he jumps in the air pumping his fists after big victories. Kobe was one of a millions kids who grew up imitating Jordan but he and James are the only one to come close to doing so in the NBA.

But Kobe is not Jordan’s equal and never will be.

Jordan won five MVPs to Kobe’s one. Jordan was the Finals MVP during all six of his championship runs. Kobe has done so twice. Jordan made the Bulls the first championship team ever built around a two-guard as the dominant player. Kobe made the Lakers the second team to do so.

Jordan never had a dominant big man. Kobe had Shaq the first time around and Pau Gasol for his recent championships.

Granted, Gasol is no Shaq. But he is better than Bill Cartwright, who played with Jordan during the Bulls’ first three-peat (1991-1993), and is light years ahead of Chicago’s two-headed post monster of Luc Longley and Bill Wennington, who manned the middle for Jordan’s final three les.

We all saw Gasol rescue Kobe on Thursday with 19 points and 18 rebounds while he couldn’t buy a basket.

Probably the most impressive statistic of Jordan’s career was his 49.7 career shooting percentage. Given his volume of shots, defenses he faced and difficulty of shots, for a two-guard to be around or above 50 percent most of his career is phenomenal.

Kobe’s career percentage is 45.5.

Conclusion

Kobe is arguably the second-greatest two-guard ever. But other than achieving worthiness of being referred to by only his first name and maybe warranting a statue, Kobe has yet to reach Magic's stature in Lakers' lore.

[JamStone]

Not a bad read but a little skewed. Kareem was still a major league force in Magic's rookie year. Magic was the sidekick his rookie season. In fact, Kareem was League MVP that year. And Kareem averaged 32 points and 12 rebounds on 57% shooting in the playoffs before going down. Magic's game 6 performance kind of makes people remember things differently. Magic was a sidekick. A sidekick that had a championship game to remember.

Also, it's hard to compare the two when it comes to the hypothetical of Magic's willingness to play with Shaq. First, it's different anyway because Magic played point guard. He wasn't a scorer first. Of course he'd have less of a problem getting a dominant big man to score a lot. Also, we don't know if Magic would have been able to play with Shaq regardless because one Kareem had already hit his peak and established his legacy already by the time Magic joined the Lakers, but more importantly after that rookie season, Kareem basically willingly gave the keys to the car to Magic. It was Kareem's willingness to take the backseat that made it easy. A 24-25 year old Shaq who had not yet won les or MVPs wouldn't have done that for Magic. So, while I'd agree that Magic was about winning. He never had to deal with taking a sidekick role. It was always his team after his rookie season. Not with Kareem, not with Worthy. It's hard to assume how he'd have handled things with Shaq. He probably would have done a better job than Kobe. But that's not a guarantee.

[EHL]

Yeah, that's a pretty horrid article. I stopped reading after the article claimed Magic was never a sidekick. Magic didn't even lead his team in assists his first two seasons with the Lakers, didn't lead his team in PER his first 4 years as a Laker, yet somehow he wasn't ever really a sidekick? Yeah, OK.

You wacky Blazer fans, when will you learn your place.

[mystargtr34]

Alot (not all) of what this guys says is true, he just comes accross as a complete hater, making it a ty article and loss of credibility.

[namlook]

Yeah, that's a pretty horrid article. I stopped reading after the article claimed Magic was never a sidekick. Magic didn't even lead his team in assists his first two seasons with the Lakers, didn't lead his team in PER his first 4 years as a Laker, yet somehow he wasn't ever really a sidekick? Yeah, OK.

You wacky Blazer fans, when will you learn your place.

[BRHornet45]

nah ... no tricks. he just actually needs to earn a championship, not have it handed to him on a silver platter.

[Ghazi]

lol Cp3

[BRHornet45]

lol Cp3

lol $250 hand job from a tranny

[Giuseppe]

nah ... no tricks. he just actually needs to earn a championship, not have it handed to him on a silver platter.

Bryant can never supplant Magic. What Magic did in the mid-80's for our Laker franchise is a once in a lifetime event. The cir stance in which Magic found himself will never be duplicated, and that is a good thing.

Bryant can exist on a separate plane, contrasted there with MJ and those of that ilk. That's pedestrian, that is for us.

[jermaine]

Alot (not all) of what this guys says is true, he just comes accross as a complete hater, making it a ty article and loss of credibility.

He comes off as a Sports writer! He don't sound like every other writer that licks Kobe's ass! I'm not a Jordan, Magic, or Kobe fan Godt Dammit this is as 2pac would say "the realiest I ever read"! The fact remains, Kobe was tryin to bail on his team then the Grizzles handed the Gusal!

[Giuseppe]

The fact remains, Kobe was tryin to bail on his team then the Grizzles handed the Gusal!

And suddenly we're at 16-17. We'll be there soon.

[Chieflion]

And suddenly we're at 16-17. We'll be there soon.

Culby, don't act so tough. You felt scared when the Celtics were leading 3-2. You admitted it here. Now, you sound like a bandwagon Lakers fan.

[Giuseppe]

Culby, don't act so tough. You felt scared when the Celtics were leading 3-2. You admitted it here. Now, you sound like a bandwagon Lakers fan.

[lefty]

Not a bad read but a little skewed. Kareem was still a major league force in Magic's rookie year. Magic was the sidekick his rookie season. In fact, Kareem was League MVP that year. And Kareem averaged 32 points and 12 rebounds on 57% shooting in the playoffs before going down. Magic's game 6 performance kind of makes people remember things differently. Magic was a sidekick. A sidekick that had a championship game to remember.

Also, it's hard to compare the two when it comes to the hypothetical of Magic's willingness to play with Shaq. First, it's different anyway because Magic played point guard. He wasn't a scorer first. Of course he'd have less of a problem getting a dominant big man to score a lot. Also, we don't know if Magic would have been able to play with Shaq regardless because one Kareem had already hit his peak and established his legacy already by the time Magic joined the Lakers, but more importantly after that rookie season, Kareem basically willingly gave the keys to the car to Magic. It was Kareem's willingness to take the backseat that made it easy. A 24-25 year old Shaq who had not yet won les or MVPs wouldn't have done that for Magic. So, while I'd agree that Magic was about winning. He never had to deal with taking a sidekick role. It was always his team after his rookie season. Not with Kareem, not with Worthy. It's hard to assume how he'd have handled things with Shaq. He probably would have done a better job than Kobe. But that's not a guarantee.

Great post