Lakers: How come noone ever said Kobe could be better than MJ or even as good?

[Clipper Nation]

MJ only won when the Pistons got old...Magic caught HIV and retired, Larry Bird and the Celtics got old...MJ couldn't win..I repeat he got his ass curbed STOMPED like in his prime against these teams...he simply couldn't do it..he waited till they were on their death beds before he won ...

If only Jordan had to play against those tough Pacers, Nets, and Magic teams in the Finals, he'd have never won a ring.....

[Latarian Milton]

Hey little boy....one little fact you overlook...MJ never had to share the ball with the "most dominant big man in NBA history" and still get his....this alone puts Kobe heads and shoulders above MJ in my book...I have no doubts that Kobe would have matched MJ in production had he not played Shaq...MJ treated Pippen like a step-child..Pippen ate when MJ told him too..Kobe basically took Shaq's food..... pretty big difference you gay ass Spur fan boys like to overlook

MJ never had to coattail ride another superstar to crominate the league and win championships, or to get past the first round at least

[Latarian Milton]

MJ only won when the Pistons got old...Magic caught HIV and retired, Larry Bird and the Celtics got old...MJ couldn't win..I repeat he got his ass curbed STOMPED like in his prime against these teams...he simply couldn't do it..he waited till they were on their death beds before he won ...

You may be too young to remember this

we all might be too young to understand how much damage has been done to sorry brain by the alzheimer's disease. 80's belonged to the celts and lakers but it wasn't like he got ass pwned all the time imho, unlike the rapists in the mid 2000s where he couldn't even lead his team past round 1 until he got the spanish to take care of his ass tbh

[Joseph Kony]

Kool with the no regard for human life goods. I've been saying the same thing around here. MJ won when the true legends got old and when the league got watered down with the T'Pups, Heat, Grizzlies, Raptors, Hornets, and Magic. If he won even ONE le during the '80s I'd concede him as GOAT.

There is no doubt in my mind that Kobe would have done either the same or surpassed any accolade MJ garnered during his reign. The level of perimeter compe ion MJ had was limited to Reggie Miller, Joe Dumars, Dominique, Craig Ehl, and Jeff Hornacek. Kobe's comp is way better and he still (should have) lead the league in scoring last year. Even in his 17th campaign.

Most guys on this forum knows what's up. Because of the Laker rivalry with the Spurs (and other reasons) they refuse to give Kobe his due. But once Kobe catches and possibly passes MJ in rang totals (not to mention points) I don't want to hear about MJ ever again.

jesus i wish you were a ugandan child. MJ never got stomped by the celtics in his prime. your boy kobe on the other hand got bounced in the round twice and failed to make the playoffs at his peak. not until he was gifted gasol did he return to relevance

[Latarian Milton]

Kool with the no regard for human life goods. I've been saying the same thing around here. MJ won when the true legends got old and when the league got watered down with the T'Pups, Heat, Grizzlies, Raptors, Hornets, and Magic. If he won even ONE le during the '80s I'd concede him as GOAT.

There is no doubt in my mind that Kobe would have done either the same or surpassed any accolade MJ garnered during his reign. The level of perimeter compe ion MJ had was limited to Reggie Miller, Joe Dumars, Dominique, Craig Ehl, and Jeff Hornacek. Kobe's comp is way better and he still (should have) lead the league in scoring last year. Even in his 17th campaign.

Most guys on this forum knows what's up. Because of the Laker rivalry with the Spurs (and other reasons) they refuse to give Kobe his due. But once Kobe catches and possibly passes MJ in rang totals (not to mention points) I don't want to hear about MJ ever again.

MJ trumped his peers throughout his career and many of them were HOF'ers including Olajuwon, admiral, malone just to name a few. any team MJ defeated in the NBA finals would of c-stomped the out of the 01-02 New Jersey ing Nets tbh

MJ is the true god of basketball and indubitably the best player to ever play this game on the planet, and you won't see anyone coming head to shoulder with him in the foreseeable future tbh

[Joseph Kony]

tbh this is from a couple years ago and kobe has yet to make up and ground on the GOAT

[z0sa]

Shaquille O'Neal

[ElNono]

Kobe has lost a step or two, but in his prime, you could easily compare him to Iverson, tbh...

[Venti Quattro]

Kobe doesn't have MJ's all around game, career averages of 25/6/5 aside. :P

What a pile of hot .

[venky]

What planet is the OP living on? Many people have said Kobe is or could be better than Jordan.

Chris Broussard has said that while he won't name them, some of Jordan's ex teamates said Kobe was better. http://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/michae...ant-is-better/

Mark Jackson says he believes Kobe will end up the best of all time. Link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVWFIGhD980

Here's an article way back when in 2003: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/ins...of_reilly0303/

[whitemamba]

Kobe has lost a step or two, but in his prime, you could easily compare him to Iverson, tbh...

lol what?

[FkLA]

What planet is the OP living on? Many people have said Kobe is or could be better than Jordan.

Chris Broussard has said that while he won't name them, some of Jordan's ex teamates said Kobe was better. http://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/michae...ant-is-better/

Mark Jackson says he believes Kobe will end up the best of all time. Link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVWFIGhD980

Here's an article way back when in 2003: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/ins...of_reilly0303/

Who is Rick Reilly? Chris Broussard is a confirmed dumbass. Get back at me when arguably the greatest coach and a Top 30 player of all-time endorses Kome.

[ElNono]

lol what?

what?

[ElNono]

lol Mark Jackson's basketball a en can be summed up in "hand down, man down"...

[Sean Cagney]

Hey little boy....one little fact you overlook...MJ never had to share the ball with the "most dominant big man in NBA history" and still get his....this alone puts Kobe heads and shoulders above MJ in my book...I have no doubts that Kobe would have matched MJ in production had he not played Shaq...MJ treated Pippen like a step-child..Pippen ate when MJ told him too..Kobe basically took Shaq's food..... pretty big difference you gay ass Spur fan boys like to overlook

Yeah and he would have three less rings if he had not played with Shaq so........ Once again you are sipping the koolaid.

[venky]

Who is Rick Reilly? Chris Broussard is a confirmed dumbass. Get back at me when arguably the greatest coach and a Top 30 player of all-time endorses Kome.

Lame. The le of your thread is how come "no one" said Kobe is better or could be better.

I provided you with 3 people.

Next.

[Venti Quattro]

At least someone said it... http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr...rnets-20110428

Happily for the Lakers, Bryant and Coach Phil Jackson are on the same page ... even if it took seven seasons together to get to that page.

"I wouldn't compare them," said Jackson, who coached both. "I think Kobe's as good as Michael."

"Michael was used to coaching, and used to coaching that he trusted, so a lot of times, in conferring with him, he could execute what the game plan was."

Bryant coaches himself as much as he allows himself to be coached.

If he does something Jackson doesn't like, Phil can dare to take him out or let him find his own way.

OHHHH it's the Zen Master.

[Latarian Milton]

If he won even ONE le during the '80s I'd concede him as GOAT.

had kobe ever won the first round w/o another superstar playing alongside his ass, no one would've regarded him as a coattail rider imho

[LkrFan]

had kobe ever won the first round w/o another superstar playing alongside his ass, no one would've regarded him as a coattail rider imho

Pop quiz: which guard set the NBA record for FTAs in a 6 game Finals series? Hint: it happened in 2006.

[Latarian Milton]

Pop quiz: which guard set the NBA record for FTAs in a 6 game Finals series? Hint: it happened in 2006.

we already gave one back to them in 2011 though. we won the series in 06 with more or less refs' help and and we took the result. it was a delightful result at least and we beat the team that kobe has never beat in a best of 7 series throughout his lifetime tbh. also enlighten me please who's the current record holder of bricking the most shots in one game?

[ambchang]

- I've been saying the same thing about Kobe around these parts for a long time. Question of the day: were any of MJ's teammates tier than Kwame Brown, Smush Parker, Brian Cook or Luke Walton? to the no. Yet many of you disregard that fact when holding the fact that Kobe missed the playoffs or was one and done playing with these NBA players. Keep moving the goal post when it is convenient Sacramento Queen Fan.

Kobe didn't have Dave Corzine, Brad Sellers, Gene Banks as his teammates too, the difference is that Jordan made the playoffs with that cast. What's your point?

[ambchang]

wouldnt you say that the average compe ion level between MJ's time and now... im pretty sure its much higher, look how stacked every team is.. players are bigger faster and more physical..kobe is the hardest working ball player this league has ever seen... for a "tosb" he is without a doubt in great shape every year, u take his injuries away that normally sideline just about everybody.. im sure kobes PPG,FGP,3P%,and FT% all go up, so many times last year and the year before either pau or bynum wouldnt show up, the bench on a regular basis. regular season is meaningless its all about the post season, and yes MJ is 6/6 no one else has done that.., but Kobe is creepin theres a good chance he can double ring... and finally even MJ said it himself that Kobe is the only one that can be compared to him, if you dont give this guy credit, you dont know basketball,,nor are you deserving enough to watch it

The supporting cast of Jordan wasn't as big, fast and physical as those of Kobe then, by you own logic. The league grew, and all the players did. You can't cherry pick the compe ion and leave out the supporting cast.

It is tough to gauge compe ion in the two eras, as the basketball landscape has changed. In the 90s, the talent is more spreadout, with players like Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, Payton/Kemp, Stockton/Malone, Shaq/Penny manning their own teams. The road to the championship has to go through a bunch of good teams with a more spreadout talent base, whereas in the 00s, talented players bunch up together, and the concept of superteams came into play, where you have the Celtics, Lakers, and now the Heat. You have more talent in the compe ion, but you also have more talent on your side if you are on the super teams. To top it off, the road to the championship is "easier" because the chances of bumping into another team with comparable talent is smaller than the 90s.

Kobe's ppg went up dramatically after the league made changes to open up the perimeter in 2000 (transition from the Jordan era to the Shaq era) in an effort to open up scoring, so he actually has an advantage in terms of perimeter offense over Jordan did, but still put up the same numbers.

Your statement about Kobe increasing production with Pau and Bynum not showing up requires some level of back up, it's entirely conjecture, and has little to base off of.

Also, I have stated many times the number of rings to gauge a players' greatness is lazy and stupid, so I am not going into it again.

MJ is also a horrible evaluator of talent, great player, horrible GM/owner, what he said in terms of player evaluation actually holds very little water.

[ambchang]

what I have on my side is proof that you don't know what the you're talking about...

Case in point 1:

• Shaq with a loaded (All-Star Cast) Magic team and with a prime Penny Hardaway gets swept in the finals 0 rings

Case in point 2:

• Shaq comes to LA with a loaded Laker team...Allstars in Van Exel and Eddie Jones and a solid team around him and doesn't win ... again 0 rings

Case in point 3:

Kobe emerges as one of the greatest players to ever play the game and ALAS!!!! Shaq finally wins his first ring enroute to a 3 peat lead by the young star phenom Kobe Bryant...Finally Shaq 1, 2, and 3 rings...

So while you may be an emotional wreck like just like a once-a-month-period-having- ....I have facts on my side

now raise up off these NUTZ cuz you gets none of these at ease...as I mob with the dogg pound feel the breeze....

Phil Jackson has something to do with it.

[ambchang]

MJ only won when the Pistons got old...Magic caught HIV and retired, Larry Bird and the Celtics got old...MJ couldn't win..I repeat he got his ass curbed STOMPED like in his prime against these teams...he simply couldn't do it..he waited till they were on their death beds before he won ...

You may be too young to remember this

Is that why Bird said "I think God disguised as Michael Jordan" after a playoff game? Or why Magic said, "There's Michael Jordan, and then there's the rest of us"?

[ambchang]

Lame. The le of your thread is how come "no one" said Kobe is better or could be better.

I provided you with 3 people.

Next.

Those 3 people you provided were proven nobodies, so the le still stands. You can't come up and quote yourself, or anyone on this board for that matter, and said the le is invalid, because we are all nobodies. Find somebodies quote.