MJ dominated in an era where perimeter players suck, just like Shaq dominated in an era where inside players suck. 80% of Kobe shots were from jumpers, if you allow him ISO in the post, and your center was restricted to be in one elbow distance of offsense center on the other side of paint, I doubt how much a good center can help. Regarding zone and handcheck, zone cannot contain a team, but certainly can contain single player better. As good as dream was, he had trouble against Seattle's zone, and that was counting on refs not calling it. Today's players shoot 3pts much better, and at a much higher rate, simply because 3pts is the best way to counter zone. And handcheck is reserved for selective few players, if it's called consistently, it's like Wade in 06 finals.
Kobe stated that Eric Snow was the toughest guy who ever guarded him. Snow is 6'3". Defense is about strength and position more than height. See Hayes, Chunk. Unfortunately delusional Laker homers don't know anything about basketball as they spend so much of their lives in fantasyland.
My god the derangement and absurdity of some people's claims regarding the 90's players versus today's players is awe inspiring. "MJ dominated in an era where perimeter people suck" and the handcheck rule is "only called for LBJ and Dwade (i.e. not Kobe)" ...the alterantive realities that some people live in is truly astounding. Jordan couldn't have scored at will on a zone defense?????? Did you even see him play? The guy needed a split second to get his flawless mid-range game in motion which was unstoppable regardless of who or how many people were guarding him, and you're telling me that having a guy sag off of him in a zone would be a killer for MJ? The same MJ who effortlessly put up 30, 40 and 50+ points at the age of 40-42 with knees so shot by debilitating knee tendinitis that he had little vertical left to his jumpshot, and had to get shots before every game to even play, against this era's "dominating perimeter players". The same guy who lit up such great perimeter players like Pierce, McGrady, Carter etc who were all taller than that midget Dumars at the age of 40+....the delusion of kobe lovers is never-ending...
To be fair, most people aren't making these claims. Only delusional Faker/Kobe homers who so want to prop their guy that they have to denigrate the legends of the game who came before him. Only these delusional Faker fans even consider Kobe being in the same echelon as MJ-- anyone who has actually watched the game, or, for that matter, actually looked at the numbers, competition, and accolades, know it's not a contest. Kobe is also known for choking when the pressure is at its highest: see his career Finals shooting percentage, and how he singlehandedly ruined the Fakers chances in 2004 in an attempt to outduel his own teammates. He's a lousy teammate and a coattail rider who has no business being in the top tier of NBA stars.
The caliber of perimeter player/defensive anchor/nba rules during Jordan's era was much more difficult than Kobe's. If Kobe's era were truly that competitive, a 40 year old Jordan wouldn't have been able to average 20 ppg.
MOSES Malone. Why would I put Karl Malone in a group with 5 other centers (Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Hakeem, Shaq)?
The counter to the argument that perimeter players were better during Kobe's era than Jordan's is "who did these perimeter players pattern their game after?" Its always hard to compare players of different eras, but IMO Jordan > Kobe. Jordan had a level of dominance that Kobe didn't. Sure Kobe comes close, but so did Shaq in his prime, Hakeem for a few years, and maybe Lebron now.
Yeah I'm sure guys like Eric Gordon and Corey Brewer could pose more a physical threat than Bryon Russell or Gerald Wilkins. You can cite Gerald Green as an example of "today's athlete". But people forget the Kenny "Sky" Walker and the Terrence Stansbury types that were in the league before. Reggie Miller was considered so-so competition . But its about 3 point shooting to combat zones, 3's considered a coveted skill. So then after 2001, Reggie Miller became good again cuz he had the modern skill to succeed. Reggie Miller is more transcendent than Jordan?
That was an awesomely thought out response. props. *for the sake of argument though, leaguewide scoring and shooting during Jordan's early days was much higher than it was during Kobe's. Late 90's/early 00's basketball sucked, to put it mildy. Iso-ball all around.
Why bother replying to this Chinese guy that knows nothing about b-ball? He is the best known Kobe fan of the whole China. He's never heard names of those guys form old days. He once called Kobe his daddy even. What a loser!!!
goodbug is an ignorant guy. he bashes the guys before kobe (MJ), the guys with kobe (Shaq) and the guys after kobe (LBJ) to try to prove kobe is the best.
I hate Kobe. But yeah, he probably cracks the top 10. He's just as good as Bird or Magic, IMHO, though I like both of them much more
Maybe in a 1 on 1 game, but in a 5 on 5 game, Bird and Magic would straight up destroy Kobe, it would almost be like rape.
Kobe is a good player, an All-Star player. As a function of history I suspect he'll be a HOF player. I don't see any signs in the numbers that he's ever been the best player in the league. Up there, yes, but never the best. It seems to me a top 10 player should have a 2-3 year span where he is undeniably the best player in the league. It should be obvious in the stats. So I ask: where is the period of uncontested dominance by Kobe Bryant? The answer is, if you're using Win Shares as the measure, there is none. http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/ws_yearly.html He's always been good. He's never been the best. To talk about people not even mentioned yet, Kevin Garnett has had three years (as measured by win shares) better than Kobe's best. Is anyone mentioning him in their top 10? Julius Erving. Doctor J. Not one person has even mentioned him. Maybe it's me, but I'd rather have Doctor J at his peak than Kobe at his. If Kobe is top 10, then where is Tim Duncan? Top 20 because we can't have anyone from San Antonio be better than Hakeem? Oscar Robertson. Referred to here by some as "not as good as Kobe". By my count, Oscar has 6 years where his win share is better than Kobe's best. Has Kobe ever averaged a triple double in a season? Top 10? Kobe isn't close. David
