Heat: GP: Kobe's still the best in the game

[RsxPiimp]

Q: As a former Los Angeles Laker, what do you think about the situation with Dwight Howard leaving the Lakers?

*Gary Payton: “It’s a player doing what he wants to do. The Lakers knew what they were getting into when they got him. They gambled and lost the game. Kobe Bryant, to me, is still the best basketball player in my mind. He played with me and he was in my era. I still love him to death. He’s a little brother to me. They’re going to struggle for a little while, and Kobe is on his way out. He has two more years to his contract and they will probably sign him back another two years and try to rebuild. They’re going to struggle. It’s going to be a hard time to the Lakers fan, but they will come back. It’s going to be a transition that they will get through.”

yet another legend pickin the mamba over lebamba

[Michael Jordan.]

Q: As a former Los Angeles Laker, what do you think about the situation with Dwight Howard leaving the Lakers?

*Gary Payton: “It’s a player doing what he wants to do. The Lakers knew what they were getting into when they got him. They gambled and lost the game. Kobe Bryant, to me, is still the best basketball player in my mind. He played with me and he was in my era. I still love him to death. He’s a little brother to me. They’re going to struggle for a little while, and Kobe is on his way out. He has two more years to his contract and they will probably sign him back another two years and try to rebuild. They’re going to struggle. It’s going to be a hard time to the Lakers fan, but they will come back. It’s going to be a transition that they will get through.”

yet another legend pickin the mamba over lebamba

You mean the same asshole who said John Stockton was the toughest to guard?

[AchillesHeel]

Kobe has 1 year left and not 2, and that opinion's coming from someone who said Stockton is harder to guard than MJ.

Lakerfans, tell me, which player is better?

a) The player who played in his 17th season with an all-star cast and was out of the playoffs most of the season and tore his achilles
b) The player who's currently in his prime, had one of the greatest regular seasons since MJ himself, won an mvp, won a finals mvp and his 2nd consecutive championship with clutch shots in games 6 and 7 in the Finals.

[Michael Jordan.]

Kobe is the best at getting Swept.

[spurraider21]

payton says kobe is the best player in the league
he also thinks the Lakers will struggle
the talent pool in the league must be really weak if the team with the best player in the league is expected to struggle, even with pau gasol on his side
imagine a LeBron team struggling to make the playoffs right now

[AchillesHeel]

Replace Kobe with Lebron on the Lakers, do they still struggle to make the playoffs, tbh?

Howard
Gasol
Lebron
Meeks
Nash

[RsxPiimp]

You mean the same asshole who said John Stockton was the toughest to guard?

That same asshole that held jordan to 41% fg in the finals

[Medvedenko]

Lebron is better now.

[AchillesHeel]

That same asshole that held jordan to 41% fg in the finals

He only guarded MJ for the Final 3 games, tbh.

[StrengthAndHonor]

He only guarded MJ for the Final 3 games, tbh.

Tbh? I don't think you saw a full game much more the series. Payton barely guarded Jordan in Game 3. He had his chance in Game 4.

This is a quote from Game 4

"[In Game 4, Jordan had his] lowest output in a Finals game, much of it with Payton guarding him. Though afterwards, Jordan refused to give Payton credit, saying 'No one can stop me, I can only stop myself. The truth is, Jordan finds the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year [Payton] annoying. He views the [young Payton] as impudent, and he would love to have a big game in Game 5 at Paytons expense"

In games 1&2, Pippen was actually Payton's assignment, while Karl applied the double team on Jordan. That chaned in Game 3 and Games 4-6, when Payton guarded Jordan.

Payton held Jordan to a Final's career low 23 points on 6/19 shooting, while scoring 21 and dishing 11 assists for himself. And that was the story from there and out. From Games 4-6, Jordan shot just 36.6%, and if you want to count Game 3, where Payton guarded him halfway (And the times he did guard him, Jordan shot less than the whole game) he was still in the 30s shooting percentage wise.

[StrengthAndHonor]

[lefty]

The same Payton eho got ass ed by MJ in 96 ?

Looks like someone is still not able to walk

[unforeseen]

Payton is still salty over Jordan.

[AchillesHeel]

Tbh? I don't think you saw a full game much more the series. Payton barely guarded Jordan in Game 3. He had his chance in Game 4.

This is a quote from Game 4

"[In Game 4, Jordan had his] lowest output in a Finals game, much of it with Payton guarding him. Though afterwards, Jordan refused to give Payton credit, saying 'No one can stop me, I can only stop myself. The truth is, Jordan finds the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year [Payton] annoying. He views the [young Payton] as impudent, and he would love to have a big game in Game 5 at Paytons expense"

In games 1&2, Pippen was actually Payton's assignment, while Karl applied the double team on Jordan. That chaned in Game 3 and Games 4-6, when Payton guarded Jordan.

Payton held Jordan to a Final's career low 23 points on 6/19 shooting, while scoring 21 and dishing 11 assists for himself. And that was the story from there and out. From Games 4-6, Jordan shot just 36.6%, and if you want to count Game 3, where Payton guarded him halfway (And the times he did guard him, Jordan shot less than the whole game) he was still in the 30s shooting percentage wise.

Final 3 games - games 4,5 and 6
smh

[spurraider21]

Payton is still salty over Jordan.

? his quote had nothing to do with MJ tbh...

[Michael Jordan.]

Replace Kobe with Lebron on the Lakers, do they still struggle to make the playoffs, tbh?

Howard
Gasol
Lebron
Meeks
Nash

Nope. LeBron doesn't miss the playoffs in his prime, for starters. And that lineup is better than anything he had in Cleveland, and can very well be argued better than his Miami cast.

[D-Wade]

Yet he rang by coattailing the 06 Heat not the staked Faker team with Bean and Co. Actually, I won't be too harsh, Payton hit some nice 3s against the Mavs and I've always respected his game. Like any other great trash-talker, he's just bull ting.

[Leetonidas]

yep Kobe's so great which is why Payton stayed in LA to win rings with Kobe



Oh wait.....

[RsxPiimp]

He only guarded MJ for the Final 3 games, tbh.

yeah, and when he did, Jordan shot like an 30% on the field.

[spurraider21]

MJ's worst finals shooting performance > Kobe's average

[RsxPiimp]

MJ's worst finals shooting performance > Kobe's average

you're a re

[Amaso]

Replace Kobe with Lebron on the Lakers, do they still struggle to make the playoffs, tbh?

Howard
Gasol
Lebron
Meeks
Nash

That team is still pure garbage. The one luxury Lebron has had his entire career is teammates who can spread the floor(and a good defense). Kobe has basically had Derek Fisher + a mediocre 3. Lebron would have no one to run the floor with, the paint would be cluttered, and the spacing would be dreadful.

Meeks is the 4th guy off the bench on an average team, and might not be in the rotation of a championship calibur squad. His shot is wildly inconsistent and despite giving it 100% defensively is still barely scraping average in terms of actual effectiveness. Nash is DONE; can't even spread the floor since he doesn't have a quick release and because he's so short. I don't even need to get started with him on the defensive end, basically playing 4v5 every possession. Gasol is almost useless with Howard on the floor, can't rebound anymore and can't spread the floor.

Even though Lebron is the best player by a mile right now, that team is maybe 3-4 wins better with him instead of Kobe... assuming you take into account all the injuries the Lakers had this year. The Lakers had no depth and struggled with injuries the entire year. Kobe had a better than expected regular season, and was even a legitimate top 3 MVP candidate on a terrible team with lots of supposed "talent", which almost never happens. He even had a 20-25 game stretch where he was carrying the defensive load as well.

[pookenstein]

I'm still confused about the le of the thread tbh. Why does it read "Kobe's still the best in the game"? He never was, so how can he still be?

[Joseph Kony]

you're a re

talking about Jordan shooting 41%
not realizing your got idol frequently shot a lower percentage
dumb re

[Arnold Toht]

I'm still confused about the le of the thread tbh. Why does it read "Kobe's still the best in the game"? He never was, so how can he still be?

He is an 18 year vet, 5 time World Champ, so.....