Broken Record Time: Having the best skill set doesn't make you the most valuable. There just aren't too many people 6'11" and taller, which is why you have such a disparity of talent at the 4/5 spots. In contrast, there are many more people who are tall enough to play the 1/2/3 spots. Having a dominant PF or C is more valuable to your team, both due to the importance of the positions and the potential for mismatches.
Historically, wing players are not as important as post players. (Look at all of the rule changes/emphases that were essentially reactions to Wilt.) That may be slowly changing due to MJ and the dearth of quality bigs, but I doubt it.
I got no problem admitting that Kobe is the best player in the world right now, and possibly the most talented basketball player to ever live.
It's just when dumbass Lakers fans try to say he's equal to or better than Jordan that I get pissed.
Kobe will never be as great as Jordan, end of story.
Kobe might very well be the greatest talent to lace 'em up.
The are 2 key differences between Kobe and the small handful of players you could place in that same air (MJ, Larry Legend, Magic, Kareem, Cousy, etc). Not only were those players consumate teammates, but they were also revolutionary - completely re-writing some area of the game by their play.
Unfortunately, Kobe is neither.
The quotes kept saying can do anything on the court, but that is not true. He can neither make his teammates better, lead his team to a decent record, or play his own style of ball (he reminds me very much of Jordan earlier on in his career, right down to the poisonous at ude).
BTW, there were two players to ever score 3000 points in one season, Kobe is neither of them.
I'm not comparing MJ to KOBE as of right now....just throwing some quotes from other NBA all-stars, HOF's and teammates.....still better opinions than anyone, including me on this board.
I don't care if he's the best teammate or friend....it doesn't matter, does it help, yeah, it keeps scrubs in the league a lot longer being a consumate teammate and team guy...but HOF's are never, including the mighty Jordan who sold out his teammates more than anyone else I've known...the best team guys. They lead by example.
Would I give Kobe teammate of the year award... no, best player in the L.....yes, by far, well that's subjective. You put some talented players around him, the team prosper....wait until the Olympics and you'll all see, again, then put the blinders on.....
I remember the 81 point game....the adulation and praise...then a week later it was rapist this and rapist that....
I remember the 4 50+ games in a row, all victories no less, on a banged up Laker team to get them a playoff footing...the praise and adulation was staggering, then a week later, it was the same hate.
We are present to greatness.....
How many rings does #24 have again?
Once a Laker, always a Laker.
how bout never
and nobody compares MJ to Kobe.....Kobe gets compared to MJ for whatever idiotic reason.
Once a Laker, always a Laker.
Wow, that's from a long time ago. Kobe's got a receding hairline, just like me.
Actually his Jordan comparison have been with him from the beginning....and they stick because he's the closest to him that there ever has been.There have been questions about how Bryant, the Lakers' first scoring option, would mesh with a lineup of star players.
Krzyzewski isn't concerned.
"Kobe's as good a player as there is on the planet, and he's a very team-oriented player," Krzyzewski said. "I think he's as good defensively as he is offensively, so that's a nice thing to have."
Yeah same with Harold Miner and Billy Owens and Grant Hill and on and on and on....EVERYBODY gets compared to Jordan and NOBODY has come even remotely close.
Lebron is closer to MJ than Kobe ever will be.
Kobe is closer to MJ than Harold Miner will ever be.
I have to disagree here...LeBron doesn't have near the work ethic that Jordan does. On talent alone, yeah, he's the closest, and he's father ahead in terms of what he's accomplished at this stage of his career than Jordan...but that's only because Jordan played two years of college ball and had to get through the Bad Boys to reach the Finals, while LeBron was an 18-yr-old rookie and only had to get past the Mildly Misbehaving Boys. When it comes to that you chip on the shoulder drive that Jordan had, Kobe comes the closest. Same with playing styles, LeBron is like a Magic/MJ hybrid, Kobe's game is closer to Jordan's.
I like the above sentence better. Kobe scored one point in game seven against the Suns last year. On a technical free throw. It's not the first time he's pouted and done something mystifying in a playoff game that ed his team. Jordan would never have done that.
how do u figure that?
and LeBron's Game 5 is better than any individual game Kobe has ever played.
The way he coasted through a huge swath of the past regular season. I don't think Jordan would've done that. Paced himself, sure, but mailed it in, I don't think so.
Mono....I know we've battled before...but to say Lebron is closer to Jordan is a missnomer if I've ever heard one. You ask any NBA player past and present and I bet that 90% + would say Kobe is by far the closest and also the better of the two in comparison to Lebron or Kobe. You ask journalists, well they tell a different story...trying to sell webspace and newspapers is a far cry from atually seeing the game and talent for what it is....rather than an "obstructed" view point.
i'd rather him do that than coast in a Game 7 against Phoenix.
one-on-one, Kobe would beat LeBron 10 times out of 10. he'd probably beat jordan 5 times out of 10.
too bad the NBA isn't a one-on-one league.
Yeah, that's a good point, although earlier in his career before he got help, Jordan had at ude problems, but he never took it that far. It also helps that Jordan went through Dean Smith's program at UNC where he learned how to be a good teammate and not make himself out to be bigger than the game. Kobe's experience was directly opposite, in many ways. I guess what I should say is that when he wants to, Kobe's compe ive streak resembles MJ's in many ways. LeBron still seems to be happy go lucky in many respects, he's had so much handed to him at so early an age, he just doesn't seem to have that same hunger that Jordan and occassionally Kobe has. Although I will say that Jordan's hunger came from wanting to win at all costs and be considered the best at all costs simultaneously, while Kobe puts individual dominance first over winning.
swap out Lebron with Kobe and Cleveland is fighting for the 8 seed.
Certainly can't defend that, that was weird.
Kobe is, hands down, the greatest scorer I've ever seen. Jordan never did the things Kobe can do when he's on a roll. Jordan was better in every other aspect of the game.
and for the record, Kobe is not driven in any way like Jordan.
Jordan played to win, bottom line. His "selfishness" was a result of him wanting to win so badly.
Kobe doesn't play to win. Kobe plays for his own personal glory. It's tough for people to adore you and love you and call you great when your team sucks as bad as the Lakers. Don't mistake his "trade me" talk as some desire to be a winner. It's a desire for people to give a about Kobe again.
Why do you think he wanted Jermaine O'Neal but not Garnett? With J.O'Neal it's still THE KOBE SHOW. With Garnett he's back to sharing the spotlight.
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