Well that's the point the hurhuhurhur Kobe has more le rings therefore better than Lerbon and Durant comment is r****ded. In reality he wouldn't have won shet without Gasol and Shaq and he didn't even win a ring in his prime either.
Those observations actually undermines Kobe's accomplishments since it establishes that you need a good TEAM to win rings. Kobe has inferior statistics to all of those players and his only argument is rings (which we already established doesn't mean much to individual greatness since it has to do with how many good teams he's been on).
Only thing I hate about these Kobe discussions is people act like he was some type of role player on those Laker Championship teams with Shaq. He was a huge key to them winning a title. Sure he wasn't the best player on the team but if he didn't play good I don't think the Lakers win a title.
This poll is way closer than I expected. Kobe. Lock-down defender. When you NEED a play -- on EITHER side of the ball -- you go straight to number 8 (since we're talking prime, I'm going with Kobe pre number switch).
I actually agree with this 100%. Given Kobe coming out of highschool, combined with the fact Shaq was already a dominate force, theres no way it could've been Kobe's team anyway. By the time the Lakers started rebuilding, Kobe wasn't close to the athlete he came in the league being. What people fail to point out is guys like MJ never went through a rebuilding process like Kobe. Yet misinformed fans continue to use this time period against Kobe's legacy when compared to player who never went through a rebuilding phase
Rings do matter. Especially when you do it having to sacrifice years of rebuilding, then having the will to remain great enough to win 2 more rings with a totally new group of players (outside of D.Fisher). KD's a beast and is already better than LBJ. But I don't see him going to the playoffs with Smush Parker, Chris Mihm & Kwame Brown in the Western Conference
Nobody wins on their own. I get the Shaq carrying Kobe part but throwing in Gasol is silly to me. Gasol was a really good basketball player but he was never a superstar or a top 10 player in the league. Kobe could have won rings with a lot of other players.
True, but how many teams won a championship in the last 30 years with only 1 HOF'er? '94 Rockets and '04 Pistons? That's all I can think of. Maybe the Mavs also since Kidd was meh that season.
Your full of shet if u think Durant cant carry a team to a .500 record like Kobe did no matter what players he has on his team.
Your an idiot. We're talking Smush Parker & KWAME BROWN. That's like replacing Ibaka out the starting lineup w/ Thabeet and then Westbrook w/ Ish Smith. No way he's getting a 8th seed, or pushing a Phoenix team with Nash to 6 games. C'mon now
1) You're. 2) Durant is carrying a team that starts Perkins & Sefolosha to the best record in the West. 3) Nash's supporting cast was just as bad as Kobe's that year but he took his team to the WCF. 4) The series went 7 games, not 6. You probably just want to forget game 7 because Kobe went invisible, as he usually does in elimination games.
Sefolosha isn't that bad. A very good defender and does other things to help team win. Perkins, I agree. But its Kobe w/ Parker, Mihm, Kawme Brown.... vs KD w/ Perkins
It's KD w/ Perkins/Sef/Ibaka/Jackson vs Kobe w/ Smush/Mihm/Kwame/Odom. I mean, yeah, Durant's team is better but it's not like he's playing with a stacked roster out there, and he's taking this team to the best record in the toughest conference ever. Meanwhile Kobe barely makes the playoffs (and subsequent back-to-back 1st round exits) when he FINALLY doesn't have the best talent in the NBA and people are like "what a hero". What did he accomplish that other wings (eg Allen, TMac, VC, Iverson) didn't do ahead of him? Most of those guys had crap teams their whole careers.
