Currently? Harden is better, maybe marginally right now because of his lack of focus defense. Does it really matter ? I don't think so, Kobe and the Lakers aren't going anywhere next 2 seasons. The Lakers and Kobe both knew that, they're going back to where Kobe and Nash are both volume shooters. I don't see them relevant in the West until Kobe and Nash retire.
Kobe doesn't play D anymore either... and he might never play a full healthy season again at this rate
Yeah, I really don't see how anyone is arguing Kobe over Duncan. They both have 5 titles, but Duncan was the primary player for more of them. Duncan has more MVPs. Duncan has never missed the postseason or won less than 50 games (or the equivalent of). Duncan won a title without another star on the roster in 03. Duncan has just as much longevity as Kobe and just as many dominant seasons. How was Kobe more impactful? How did Kobe have a better career?
LOL can we get this guy a beginner's guide to basketball? Watch some games. Not just highlights on Youtube or just box scores. Watch a few games and you'll understand a little more.
Olajuwon, Shaq, and Moses Malone have less MVPs than Karl Malone. Duncan has never missed the postseason or won less than 50 games (or the equivalent of). = You mean the Spurs. Duncan won a title without another star on the roster in 03. = Debatable, remember they had Bowen, Jackson, Parker, and Ginobili. Let's not pretend he played with a Milwaukee quality team. Duncan has just as much longevity as Kobe and just as many dominant seasons. = What's your definition of dominant? Defense, offense, impact on the game, who is harder for coaches to prepare for, who had the most MVP quality seasons? Who finished in the top 5 of MVP voting more times? Why do alot people, fans, critics, and active-nonactive NBA players and coaches have no trouble placing Kobe in the top 5 ever or him being possibly the best ever? So do we count the seasons where Duncan doesn't play on back-to-back nights?
Really one of the worst posts on this subject. You do not give a single reason why someone would say kobe is better. Also nobody says kobe is top 5 ever and certainly nobody is saying he could be the best ever. .. just a terrible post. Duncan has been more succesful and clearly a better player than kobe. There is really no debate.
Has Karl Malone led teams to more titles than them, been just as impactful, had more accolades, a higher peak, etc? What other advantage can you list for Malone over any of those players. What advantage can you list for Kobe over Duncan? No, I mean the team built around Duncan. They weren't at 50 each season before him, right? It's not debatable. Bowen was a star at any point in his career? Parker was playing at a star level in 03? Manu was playing at a star level in 03? Jackson was playing at a star level in 03? Please identify the other Spur playing at a star level on the 03 roster. Before I get into my definition of dominant, do you disagree that Duncan has not had as many dominant seasons as Kobe in pretty much any way you want to measure it? Because he is popular. Sure. He still made the first all-nba team doing that, didn't he? Care to list the advantages Kobe has over Duncan? Tangible things we can measure?
I'm not even Kobe fan, but it's weird defending his accomplishments to such an ignorant, short-sighted, myopic poster who cannot keep their homer-ism in check. Dethroning Kobe referred to the past, present, and future, according to previous. It is actually a reasonable component to the argument. But, if you are too dense and easily distracted from reading the previous comments. I will slowly explain to you with a Twitter-style format. http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports....-and-michael-jordan-are-greatest-of-all-time/ http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ba...ant-is-one-of-the-five-greates?urn=nba-287681 http://www.lakersnation.com/dwyane-wade-calls-kobe-bryant-second-best-all-time/2014/07/26/ http://www.insidesocal.com/lakers/2...ver-kobe-bryant-offers-high-praise-of-bryant/ http://www.slamonline.com/nba/jerry-west-considers-kobe-bryant-the-greatest-laker-ever/ http://dimemag.com/2012/09/dime-71-basketballs-best-since-2000-issue/ http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2014/...yant-is-the-best-player-since-michael-jordan/ "Dirk Nowitzki Says Kobe's The Best Player He's Ever Played Against...not Tim Duncan" <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fyV5c-Cd4yg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
It is interesting you ignore Icehouse post who took more time (and energy) than me in responding. The article wasn't talking about career achievements, since we can all agree that Harden is not even close to Kobe career wise, he was talking about next year, who will be better. It is nice to read the article before discussing it. Like I have stated I do believe Kobe is one of the better players of his generation, and if you make a new 50 of all time he should be on it. However he is not a top 10 of all time and he is not the best player of his generation (Duncan is). Since you for some reason are actually arguing that Kobe is one of the 5 greatest of all time, and better than Duncan. I cannot take anybody seriously who believes Kobe is one of the top 5 of all time. So I will make it easy for you? Please give me some argument why Kobe is better than Duncan. Icehouse already gave some argument for why Duncan was better/had a better career. But I will give a couple more: 1: Duncan has more MVPs 2: Duncan has more final MVPs 3: Duncan has more championships while he was the best player on the team These 3 arguments are already enough for most sane people to understand that Duncan should rank higher on the all time list. I will give a couple more reasons, but I am sure that if you respond you will ignore these 3 points (like you ignored Icehouses post) and focus on the other arguments I will give in this post, since focusing on these 3 arguments will lead to you either having to admit you were wrong or just looking like someone who is a Kobe fan. 4: Duncan was the better defensive player (and had a bigger impact on defense than Kobe) 5: While Kobe has a higher ppg average he does so at a lower FG% (Taking about 5000 shots per game more than Duncan, jacking up more shots does not make you a better offensive player). Who is the better offensive player is debatable IMHO. 6: Duncan has won championships with a lot less around him than Kobe (those 2003 Spurs had some nice players, but when your second scorer is a 20 year old Parker who has 15 ppg it is much less than having Shaq next to you or a prime Pau Gasol). So please enlighten us why should we rate Kobe higher than Duncan? I am getting a bit bored by the Kobe fanboys who just refuse to see reason.
Let's put it this way regarding Kobe vs. Duncan. Knowing what we know about both players and what they have accomplished in their careers, if you could draft 20 year old Kobe or 20 year old Duncan as your franchise player for the next 15 years who do you choose? To me, it's Duncan and the decision is an easy one. I'd wager almost every GM in the league would do the same.
i dunno kobe was pretty good. that contract he took on was horrible for the lakers though. i think he chunks up too many shots, if he had another star to take the pressure off of him then i think the lakers could do something. im personally not one who likes players who are rather one dimensional like kobe. but i do respect him, i dont know who that poster earlier was saying kobe wasnt clutch and that fisher and horry were more clutch. freaking kobe has made a ton of ridiculous clutch shots and daggers its depressing.
So I see the Duncan vs Kobe debate has resurfaced. Bottom line is that despite TD having a superb career, Kobe's story, with it's ups and downs, is more iconic. Years from now, I will tell my son that TD was a great player, but the boys of my generation grew up idolizing Kobe.
Pure Kobe hate The Spurs have the best ran organization in sports history. The long term success of the Spurs has more to do with the FO and Pop, than Duncan. Duncan hasn't been the best player on the team the last 5 years. They both have great careers, Kobe's by FAR the better player. The Spurs without Duncan can still fight for a 8th seed. The lakers without Kobe are possibly the worst team in the league. I'm assuming you knew all this but your Kobe hatred has clouded your judgement
You are wrong. Lakers without Kobe can do much more than the spurs without duncan. Which lakers are you referring to?
