Pre 07 I would still take Lebron over Kobe with the exception of Lebron's rookie season. Also off the top of my head I would also take players like Dirk, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and Shaq over Kobe in the seasons before that. Hell if we want to we could add a better version of Kobe to the list in Allen Iverson at least till the mid 2000's. I could probably add more if I was going to really look into it, but I stand by Kobe never being the best player in the NBA at any point in his career.
Lebron at his best couldn't carry Lebron's shoes. That's why he keeps forming superteams in the eastern conference (he ain't stupid). Also Kobe was CLEARLY the best player in the league the year Nash won those MVP's. Delusional are we?
Chucker with 5 rings? If Lebron chucked more he wouldn't have to depend on Kyrie to close games out for him.
The original comment didn't say anything, meaningful that is. Jordan didn't have the type of free agency that LeBron had until he fought for it, which occurred after his 2nd comeback. Giving him credit for something he couldn't even attempt to do is silly. Knocking someone for doing what Jordan fought for the right to do is silly. Neither player has won on a team that wasn't considered the most talented in basketball when they won. LeBron has beaten teams that are arguably better than any team Jordan ever beat for a title. I don't believe you get a ring for winning the East. I'm using the logic that it's beyond silly to knock a guy for doing what is smart, which is to put himself in a better situation if his team is not providing him the support needed to win titles. I think employees leveraging their power to boss status is impressive. "Everyday" players don't have that type of leverage. Post LeBron you see star players waking up and using that leverage if they have it.
I guess that explains how he won two titles in Miami, one where he hit the GW shot in G7. Silly logic and all.
In 04-05 I would have taken Lebron, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Dirk, Tim Duncan....hell maybe even Shaq over Kobe that season. If 04-05 Kobe's numbers are compared to the Rockets roster this past season, he'd be 14th in eFG%....he didn't have a good season. In 05-06 the list would be longer because he went full on chucker mode missing the more shots that season than anyone has missed in a season in the last 45 years. There's just not much of an argument for Kobe ever being the top player in the league at any point in his career.
Sam Jones has twice as many rings, I suppose that means he was an efficient scorer when he was putting up 26 points on 23 shots per game.....because ringz
I agree. Over a full season, he never was the best player in the league. Maybe if you went super granular to a month maybe he takes it that one January he averaged 40ppg with the 81 point game. But that doesn't mean much.
Ok. I'm sure you remember this guy? Again. No superstar in HISTORY, in of their primes, has played with a worse roster than Kobe's 2006 team. Otis Thorpe was MILES better than Lamar Odom. That was a dumb question to begin with
How good would those teams be without Sam Jones on them? How many double teams did Sam Jones command?
I think it comes down to flash over substance when we're talking about Kobe. He certainly had the flash of a top talent in the league, but the substance just wasn't there for the most part. Guys like Duncan are considered "boring" as they are quietly being the best defensive player in the league while also being a 20/10 guy for nearly a decade but that's a LOT more valuable than a flashy chucker, even if the flashy chucker happens to score 80 points against a terrible team in a pointless game one time.
so now people are in support for doing what is smart route. I sure hope you didn't throw shade at lebron when he first left or anything negative about KD if you're going to stick with that statement
How good would the Lakers teams have been without Shaq and Pau? Oh we know this answer already, they'd have been a lottery team.
There are probably about half a dozen wing players in NBA history that would have had the same, if not more success that Kobe had throughout his career given the same teammates. He's certainly an all-time great, but he really doesn't belong in these discussions with MJ and Lebron.
Yep. Let's not forget how good Kobe's roster was that year: 9 Chucky Atkins 15 Tony Bobbitt 5 Tierre Brown 8 Kobe Bryant 1 Caron Butler 43 Brian Cook 12 Vlade Divac 3 Devean George 55 Brian Grant 20 Jumaine Jones 14 Stanislav Medvedenko 31 Chris Mihm 7 Lamar Odom 21 Kareem Rush 18 Sasha Vujacic 4 Luke Walton I'm sure Kobe greatly benefited from all the double teams Chucky Atkins demanded
Where is Pau in the goat bigman conversation? I've never heard his named mentioned as elite like any of the player Lebron played with
