1999: Shaq
2000: Shaq
2001: Shaq
2002: Shaq/Duncan
2003: Duncan
2004: Garnett
2005: Duncan
2006: Wade
2007: Duncan/Nowitzki(would have clearly been Dirk if the playoffs meltdown hadn't occurred)
2008: Garnett
2009: Lebron
2010: Lebron
2011: Lebron
2012: Lebron
2013: Lebron
2014: Lebron
Duncan was pretty great in 2007, I'm surprised so many people have already forgotten..he should have easily won DPOY that year, too..
^I think Duncan should be the best of 99, considering the Spurs swept the Lakers out of the playoffs on their way to the le with TD as FMVP.
Anyway, I think the OP was confusing two distinct claims: Duncan has been the best player every year since Jordan retired (not true and no one ever said this), and Duncan is the best player post-Jordan overall (which is true). In terms of individual seasons, he probably was #1 in 99 and 02-07, possibly with the exception of Garnett in 04.
I used to have Duncan at #1 for 1999, but after looking into it and watching some of the games a few months ago, I think Shaq was still the best player in the league, at that point..David Robinson was still a star player, at that point, tbh, while the Lakers had nothing outside of Shaq..
So you are saying Kobe reigns from 09 to 10? So where does that put Lebron?
And going by that logic, Duncan ruled till 2005, and apparently he ruled once more than Kobe did. So you basically answered your own question.
Boiled down: Duncan 3 : Kobe 2
TD's singular rule was from 2003-2007. Kobe ruled from 2008-2010. Lebron started his reign in 2011. All in imo
No. Other than the fact that he had a great frontline as teammates, there is literally nothing that Kobe had on LeBron from 08-10.
LeBron has been by far the best player in the league since his first MVP.
Nah I wouldn't say that. Lebron was good but he wasn't half the defender nor shooter Kobe was during those yrs; 2008-2010 were Kobe's best. Also, Lebron's post game hadn't nearly developed to how good it is now (Kobe had a slightly better post game) so Kobe was better for those 3 yrs imo. Lebron had always been a better rebounder, passer & finishing at the rim but his offensive arsenal didn't really start to grow until he went to Miami. Kobe won the MVP in 08 also, and he did have a slight dropoff in 2010 (cue game 7 of the Finals) but Lebron hadn't "bloomed" yet. 2011 and onwards is when he solidified himself as a better on-ball & off-ball defender, passer, rebounder & finisher than Kobe was.
LeBron has been by far the best player in the league since his first MVP.
You lost me at Bron wasnt half the defender Kobe was...
Kobe's best years IMO were from 2006-2010. He was straight up unstoppable in the game.
He went from an offensive juggernaut (2006, 2007) into a bonafide leader, olympic gold medalist and a back to back champion (2008-2010)
Not yet at least. Now he's better.
Kobe's best years IMO were from 2006-2010. He was straight up unstoppable in the game.
He went from an offensive juggernaut (2006, 2007) into a bonafide leader, olympic gold medalist and a back to back champion (2008-2010)
Anyone who says Kobe > Lebron from 08-10 simply didn't watch basketball and is just hoping people forget what it was actually like.
Kobe was slightly better than Lebron in 2008 IMO, but it has clearly been Lebron since the 2008-2009 season..
Best player post-Jordan year by year:
1999 - Duncan/Shaq
2000 - Shaq
2001 - Shaq
2002 - Shaq/Duncan
2003 - Duncan/Garnett
2004 - Garnett/Duncan
2005 - Duncan
2006 - Wade/Dirk (Duncan had PF that year, but still had an incredible playoff run)
2007 - Duncan/Dirk
2008 - Kobe/Lebron/Garnett/Duncan (no clearly dominant player this year)
2009 - Lebron/Kobe
2010-2014 - Lebron
Kobe's two best years were 2005-2009, but he was only arguably the league's best player in 2008 and 2009. Duncan's knees gave way around 2009, so he stopped being elite again until 2012, when he refined his game from being the best post player in the league to the best pick and roll/pop big in the league.
This thread is just another Kobefan grasping at straws tbh...
Kobe from 08-10 wasn't even as good as Kobe from 05-07. The only difference was that he got the best front court in the league from 08-10 but only a decent team from 05-07.
2008 when he got Plantar Fasciitis and played with it for two years. Then he got the knee problems in 09-10. Didn't start looking like his old self until the '11-'12 and the Spurs started to turn things around.
Honestly, I think Amy Duncan and the investigation has something to do with it.
I think Kobe was just an overall better player though during those later years. Strictly speaking scoring though? Maybe he was better previously.
Nah 08-10 Kobe > 05-07. 05-07 was really all about scoring, the years succeeding that were his best years. it mirrored his 2003 season in a way but with more maturity.
From both stats and advanced stats perspective, 05-07 was better. The only thing 08-10 was better in was winning, and that was purely because of MVPau.
Nope. That's where stats fool everyone.
Who said I didn't watch him?Nope. That's where stats fool everyone.
MVPau made him better, because MVPau is, well, MVPau. He just makes second bananas better.
Kobe, as an individual person, was clearly better in 05-07.
Saying 08-10 Kobe is better is like saying 13 wade was better than 09 wade just because he won a le.
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