I have been watching basketball since 1980 and I've never seen a better basketball player than Kobe Bryant. By that I mean a player that could play the game in any era, dominate and have team success without the rules being changed in his favor. The only other players I would put into this category are Wilt, Russell, Magic, Kareem and Bird. To me these five players along with Kobe; could play any era, any rules and be absolutely dominant in the game.
Some people may argue with this list. I have no problem with that. If you are one of these people please consider this before rebutting: Were the rules changed to stop the dominance of your greatest players or changed to enhance the dominance of your favorite players? The players I have listed were all the targets of rule changes in the game to curb how dominant they were and allow a more consistent level of compe ion through the NBA game.
Almost every rule in the game that has shaped our game was created to stop Wilt and Russell. Goaltending on the rim, then cylinder area, not moving off the free throw line until the ball hits the rim, not jumping from the free throw line to score on a free throw, the three seconds in the key lane rule and on and on. Plus these guys were flat out bad ass athletes for any era.
Kareem gets overlooked because he is such an original. He played against everyone on this list except for Kobe. He played a power position with finesse, grace, skill, power and intelligence and he did it for 2 decades! He has les, MVPs, records in the NCAA and NBA. And when the NCAA outlaws dunking to stop you, you're one bad (hush your mouth!).
Magic and Bird changed the landscape of professional basketball. It was a dying game in the eyes of America until they came around. They effected how people viewed the game in their college year(s) and Carrie that throughout their careers. Not only were they cornerstones in resurrecting their franchises but they invigorated the world's desire to watch the game. Also, the palming rule was rehashed for Magic while the 3 point line was moved back for Bird. Bird had info it range so it was a joke of a rule change towards him, but surely had an effect on other players.
Now Kobe. He is the best all around player I have ever seen. I have watched him play the dominant player and the co-dominant player. He can attack the rim, post up, pass, shoot, dribble with both hands, score on anyone and shut down just about anyone. Then add in his intangibles of playing through pain, longevity, adversity at an extremely high level. The current NBA is basically full of clones of three players in my opinion. That would be Pippen, Garnett and Kobe. Look around and you'll see a lot of guys who look like Pippen and Garnett, but the only true Kobe gamer is Kobe. These young players can't match his physical game, but they try to pattern themselves after him mentally and for me, that is a great thing for the NBA.
The rule change to stop Kobe was the zone defense. When it occurred most of people thought it was put in to stop Shaq and that is half true because they were a dominant duo and the focus was on Shaq. Reality is no zone could really stop Shaq. It would slow him down because he would see the ball less, but he operated so close to the rim and was so powerful that when motivated he would dominate. In fact, he's not on this list because he simply chose not to dominate for so many years AND the NBA looked the other way on his offensive 3 seconds and fouls (bullying through smaller defenders with great defensive position). The zone was created to stop Kobe. He simply couldn't be defended. Forget the 81 point game. The 62 he put on Dallas in 3 quarters is the scariest thing I have ever seen against a high level team. That Dallas team went to the Finals (and got jobbed by Stern after Cuban ran onto the floor to celebrate their game 1 victory). By this time Popovich had already told the world he respected Shaq, but they game planned to stop Kobe and everyone laughed. The zone allows teams to stack defenders in layers vs Kobe. I mean 3 layers. The original defender, the two waiting for him once he blasted by the original defender and the defender at the rim waiting for him once he beat those 3. Kobe countered by going down low or passing to a big man who could handle the passes and finish (Pau). He destroyed Orlando's zone in the 2010 Finals with Dwight as the anchor of their defense by scoring at least 29 points and having 8 assist each game.
Ok. That's enough from me.
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cubby's gna love that one
