So Kobe shoots 25% on game winners, which is nearly 5 percent

[Punchy]

below the league average, but is considered the clutchest player to ever shoot a clutch shot in a clutch situation?

I don't get it?

The Kobe-as-closer idea kicked into gear this season as Bryant sank six game-winning shots, each more spectacular than the last. On Dec. 4 against the Miami Heat, for example, he banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer off one foot with Dwyane Wade in his face. As fans, though, we tend to remember the makes and forget the misses. According to 82 Games, Bryant missed the most potentially game-winning shots (42) of anyone in the NBA from 2003-04 through the middle of the 2008-09 season. (In this study, a game-winning shot was defined as one taken with 24 seconds or less remaining and the score tied or the team with the ball down by 1 or 2 points.) While Bryant was fourth in the NBA in game-winners (14) over that period—behind LeBron James, Vince Carter, and Ray Allen—his .250 game-winning shooting percentage was below the league average of .298. That .250 mark was also the second-worst of anyone with at least six game-winning baskets, behind only the SI poll's second-favorite clutch performer, Chauncey Billups. (Some of the league's best late-game shooters by percentage: Carmelo Anthony, Antawn Jamison, and Pau Gasol.)

http://www.slate.com/id/2255932/

[R4R]

He shoots alot of them.

[poop]

Manu is a far superior closer.

if i could pick anyone on any team to take the ball from the top in the closing seconds and dictate the play/take the shot...

...it would be Manu NO DOUBT.

[greyforest]

i personally remember kobe's badass performance in game 7 of last year's finals

[poop]

no doubt, Kobe has taken over and won more playoff games than i can remember. horry and Fisher have nothing on him.

[LkrFan]

Manu is a far superior closer.

if i could pick anyone on any team to take the ball from the top in the closing seconds and dictate the play/take the shot...

...it would be Manu NO DOUBT.

How did Manu do against...J Rich the other night?

[Fabbs]

Last years 6-24 and the year before he got stuffed numerous times in multiple Finals games with game on line, ie Turkolu blocking his weak crap.

He's such a predictable ball hog that defenders can plan on him shooting with zero chance of passing.

[JamStone]

It's true that Kobe's reputation for being clutch is greatly exaggerated. And he hasn't had a lot of clutch winning baskets in the playoffs especially. He did help bolster the reputation by hitting a lot of game winners in the regular season last year.

However, the problem with just looking at percentages on game winning baskets are twofold.

First, it doesn't take into context cir stances on those shots. I'm pretty sure Kobe by far has taken the most game winning or game tying shot attempts over that period between 2003-2009 than anyone else in the league. And because of that and because of his reputation, he is the most well defended player in those situations, getting double teamed, sometimes triple teamed. But Kobe has no conscience in those situations. Through most of his career, in those situations, Kobe would rather shoot an off balanced 30 foot three pointer draped by three defenders and falling out of bounds than swing the ball to an open teammate. That's simply Kobe's mentality. It's no wonder his FG% in those situations is poor. While there are many players that won't even think about shooting near impossible attempts like that, Kobe has no reservation at all in chucking up those shots. Now, in many ways it's simply stupid of him. But it's also a reflection of his stubborn and never waning confidence in his abilities, not to mention his ego. So while there are players in the league with better clutch FG%, it's often a result of them taking better, more open shots, and not taking impossible shots whereas Kobe doesn't give a how difficult a shot is, he'll take it. It's no wonder why teams still try to take the ball out of his hands in those situations. Otherwise, why not let a 25% shooter in those situations shoot the ball?

The second problem is that game winning shot attempts is not the only thing that defines how clutch a player is. If the Lakers are down 10 points with 4 minutes to go, and then Kobe takes over, hits two three pointers, makes another and-1 basket, gets two assists, goes 3-for-4 in those final minutes and the Lakers end up winning by 4 points but there is no game winning shot to be taken, made, or missed, does that mean Kobe was not clutch? Of course not. It just meant his clutchness wasn't simply accounted for in one game winning shot. Being clutch is more than making buzzer beating shots.

[Koolaid_Man]

It's true that Kobe's reputation for being clutch is greatly exaggerated. And he hasn't had a lot of clutch winning baskets in the playoffs especially. He did help bolster the reputation by hitting a lot of game winners in the regular season last year.

However, the problem with just looking at percentages on game winning baskets are twofold.

First, it doesn't take into context cir stances on those shots. I'm pretty sure Kobe by far has taken the most game winning or game tying shot attempts over that period between 2003-2009 than anyone else in the league. And because of that and because of his reputation, he is the most well defended player in those situations, getting double teamed, sometimes triple teamed. But Kobe has no conscience in those situations. Through most of his career, in those situations, Kobe would rather shoot an off balanced 30 foot three pointer draped by three defenders and falling out of bounds than swing the ball to an open teammate. That's simply Kobe's mentality. It's no wonder his FG% in those situations is poor. While there are many players that won't even think about shooting near impossible attempts like that, Kobe has no reservation at all in chucking up those shots. Now, in many ways it's simply stupid of him. But it's also a reflection of his stubborn and never waning confidence in his abilities, not to mention his ego. So while there are players in the league with better clutch FG%, it's often a result of them taking better, more open shots, and not taking impossible shots whereas Kobe doesn't give a how difficult a shot is, he'll take it. It's no wonder why teams still try to take the ball out of his hands in those situations. Otherwise, why not let a 25% shooter in those situations shoot the ball?

The second problem is that game winning shot attempts is not the only thing that defines how clutch a player is. If the Lakers are down 10 points with 4 minutes to go, and then Kobe takes over, hits two three pointers, makes another and-1 basket, gets two assists, goes 3-for-4 in those final minutes and the Lakers end up winning by 4 points but there is no game winning shot to be taken, made, or missed, does that mean Kobe was not clutch? Of course not. It just meant his clutchness wasn't simply accounted for in one game winning shot. Being clutch is more than making buzzer beating shots.

and in today's "Did You Know Segment" of the Detroit Free Press:

Did you know that Kobe was far superior than the greatest player to ever wear a Pistons uniform.