Reply With Quote
Interesting post. Can't argue with any of your points.
But Bill Russell said Timmy is his favorite player playing today.
That's all the former player endorsement I need. No nonsense, cerebral, defense, greatest winner of his era. Describes both men.
By now, I'm sure everyone has seen/heard the over the top love fest and claims of him being "this generation's Jordan" (apparently Jordan was the fourth best player of his generation).
Some of it is lip service. James, for example, has clearly never been his biggest fan, but as a longtime face of the league, he tows the company line. Much of it, of course, is genuine, because Bryant is their ideal image of what a basketball player should be. From the dark skin, to the profuse sweating, to the constant scowling, to the berating of just about everyone at one time or another, to the arrogance, to the trash talking, to the posing, to his size, position and the style in which he plays. The selfish, iso balling, high degree of difficulty shots, etc. He's everything they think of when they think of basketball.
Duncan is, of course, the polar opposite in virtually every respect, so of course many of them don't hold him in the same regard. The vast majority also know nothing about and in many cases shun advanced stats, which doesn't help his cause.
This is precisely why the vast majority of NBA players, particularly former ones, shouldn't be in positions of power in the league, have a hand in voting for anything involving the league or have their opinions taken seriously. Time and time again, they prove that they're nothing more than genetic lottery winners, who know little about and have a distorted view of the game.
Interesting post. Can't argue with any of your points.
But Bill Russell said Timmy is his favorite player playing today.
That's all the former player endorsement I need. No nonsense, cerebral, defense, greatest winner of his era. Describes both men.
^
Go ahead and add Dr. J to the list too BillMc.
Very cool. Noted and added. Also cool that Dr. J. says in your video that Duncan is his favorite player since George Gervin retired. Seems the doc is a fan of SA Legends.
I'm pretty sure Timmy and the good doctor bonded during Duncan's therapy sessions...
There are plenty of players, current and especially past, that have acknowledged that Duncan is the best player of his generation..
Most of the current crop of players are either friends with Kobe, and/or grew up admiring him..that's all there is to it, for the most part..
Duncan is an anti-media guy that doesn't do his part in "promoting the game", his style of play has never stood out(aesthetically), and frankly, he has never given any indication that he gives a..Kobe is obsessed with his legacy and perception, he is extremely insecure, he has made it a point to form relationships with all the younger stars in the NBA, clearly..
I don't know why anybody even listens to players' opinions anymore, btw
The list goes on and on.
You ever hear Magic Johnson (THE GOAT LAKER) during the "Redemption" vid. I mean he did basically everything but suck us off during his commentary on that video. Greatest team....greatest players....unselfish players....reminded him of the old days....etc. It's all because of what Tim Duncan set as the foundation. And that's a Laker saying that...........
Great bigs will never be as esteemed as great swingmen.
The smaller man's greatness is more entertaining.
There's really nothing more to it than than that.
Players do respect Duncan hence why he won that best teammate award during the summer time in which the whole entire league voted on. Players come down to SA to work with Duncan during the summertime. The only reason you don't hear guys sucking off of Duncan is because Duncan is not an attention while Kobe is. Just think about how many times during the ASG weekend did players have to answer questions about Kobe from the media. These guys are not going to bad mouth Kobe even if they do think he's overrated because they don't want to deal with the fall out. Also Duncan is a big which tends not to be popular a position currently in a league dominated by perimeter players.
I stopped respecting players opinions a long time ago when MJ became the the owner my home team the Hornets. MJ has made a ton of bad moves since he's been owner and it's clear he's a terrible scout of talent. This is the greatest player of all time and he still has a hard time drafting the right players, making the right FA signings, and trades. This is the same man who got angry at Krause for drafting Pippen and Grant along with trading Oakley for Cartwright which were moves that allowed the bulls to become a dynasty. My point is the majority of players are terrible scouts of talent. Just look at last year when the players voted Harden to be MVP over Curry. That vote looks really stupid now.
I don't know if so much revere as guys want to play more like Bryant vs Duncan. It's like guys wanting to be like Mike versus say Karl Malone or Olajuwon.
I know, but I'm talking in general. They either don't get or don't have appreciation for subtlety and nuance. That's why they all pretend that a guy who was only interested in winning on his terms, is the "ultimate compe or", instead of the guy who did literally everything possible to win (took less money, changed his body, changed his game, took a secondary role offensively when needed, etc.), because he doesn't look the part.There are plenty of players, current and especially past, that have acknowledged that Duncan is the best player of his generation..
Most of the current crop of players are either friends with Kobe, and/or grew up admiring him..that's all there is to it, for the most part..
Duncan is an anti-media guy that doesn't do his part in "promoting the game", his style of play has never stood out(aesthetically), and frankly, he has never given any indication that he gives a
I don't know why anybody even listens to players' opinions anymore, btw
I don't take the vast majority of players' opinions seriously. Very few are worth listening to. Most have the same takes as old school media types and casual fans.
Unfortunately, while online content has changed with the times and gotten better, on air is still lagging behind. In fact, the NBA has the worst on air analysis of any sport. It's mostly old fogies, with outdated takes and played out comedy routines, citing irrelevant information, such as someone's scoring average (amazingly, in '16, they still haven't figured out that this is heavily reliant on context). There's very little mention of advanced stats or X's and O's analysis.
If you asked most of these players who would you rather play with Duncan or kobe? The majority would answer Duncan imo. Which is what matters most.
It's because Kobe has always been at the ready for some controversy and storylines, tbh... That's what used to sell magazines, and nowadays online subscriptions... It has little to do with the game (and I'm not taking anything away from early 2000's Kobe who was an athletic monster), he was just more than willing to fit in to the media narrative that the league needed a "next Jordan"... one thing you have to give Kobe is that he always has been a terrific media manipulator.
That said, the media is moving on from the old to the new, with advanced stats, etc, and his stock will ultimately drop... one example is that nobody is really looking for the "next Kobe", which would be a go-to move if the old media still had much relevancy.
It's true that Timmy will probably need #6 to bury any and all discussions, which is really a shame, because they're not really comparable.
Yeah I'll take Bill Russell and Dr. J!! That constant attention is precisely why Tim is not on a "Farewell Tour." Tim is still trying to win a championship. If everyone can step up around him and Manu can return, I believe we are going to see some dogged determination to win!
+
Amen, bro!Yeah I'll take Bill Russell and Dr. J!! That constant attention is precisely why Tim is not on a "Farewell Tour." Tim is still trying to win a championship. If everyone can step up around him and Manu can return, I believe we are going to see some dogged determination to win!
Quality takes in this thread.
For the same reason players revere Magic more than Kareem. #sizematters
Amen, bro!
Quality takes in this thread.
Kobe never fit the Jordan mold. He fit the Jordan narrative.
Do you ever ing stop whining? Jesus...I bet you are insufferable in real life.
marketing
I'm sure this has nothing to do with Nike and Kobe's Hero/Villian brand....
I haven't really seen any evidence of the premise of the OP.
Players being interviewed by the media at a 'Farewell' gathering honoring Kobe aren't going to bad mouth Kobe.
I would be willing to bet that the majority of current players (including the best ones) 'revere' Duncan over Kobe. But exactly how would they manifest that?
Honest, I just don't accept the premise.
I disagree with the last part..nothing is worse than NFL coverage, tbh
Thats because majority of these players want to be kobe, and so they rather play with duncan haha
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
