Kobe Bryant the most overrated player in NBA History?

Kobe is overrated in the sense of his talent level. I'm not sure he's ever been the best player in the NBA, or has ever deserved an MVP award.

Yet there is something to be said for consistency. His best seasons may be low on the rung of "greatest seasons by an NBA player", but taken as a whole, you can't deny that his career places him among the all-time greats simply because of his ability to produce at the same high level year in and year out for 15 years now.

In other words, he may never have been the greatest player in the league, but he's ALWAYS in the top 10, and usually in the top 5.

 

I think the most overrated player in NBA history is Rodman. A very good player in Detroit, when asked to be the second best player on a team, he cratered emotionally and quit. He focused on rebounding so much that the other parts of his game suffered. With the Bulls, he had the ability to turn it on and play complete games, but it seemed to always be when the game was on national TV. He had a knack for making the over-hustle hustle play right in front of the cameras. He's probably the only guy in the Hall since the Celtics run who was never the best or next best player on a championship or near-championship team. He actually played better in the playoffs than the regular season for Detroit and was a double-double guy for the their championships. After that, he underperformed in the playoffs.

Anyway, on to Kobe. Kobe is an interesting topic. He has been very, very good, no doubt. He is not afraid of clutch time at all. My big ding on him is that he seems like an aggregator instead of an innovator. He has built his game on the shoulders of others and there is nothing that has done to elevate the game or his position. I watch him and I see extreme competency, not artistry. Great dunker, but not close to the best. Great shooter, but nowhere near the best. Great defender, but not the best. Questionable leader.

You cannot question the man's dedication to hard work or the game, I've just always wanted to see something more from him. There just doesn't seem to be a lot of joy in his game.

 

People keep saying doing it at an elite level for 15 yrs, but it's really 12 years b/c his first 3 years were not elite. His 4th year is questionable since it's more borderline all star numbers than elite. Either way 11 or 12 years is still a long time to be at that high of a level of play.

 

Yep, that's definitely a blemish on his resume, but then again, he's only deserved (arguably) it once.

 

Rodman is greatest rebounder of all time, who could evedefend point guards. Most of great rebounders, even nowadays(Love, Faried) aren't great defenders. MJ would only won 3 maybe 4 rings without Rodman after Bulls lost Grant.

 

Shaq only has one
Dream only has one

No shame in not winning multiple MVPs.

Kobe actually didn't deserve it the year he won it. LBJ bested him in everything.

I think Kobe deserved it in 2006 (Nash) or 2007 (Nowitzki).

 

two words: Scottie pippen.

Ofcourse you can be overrated. If people think you are the best ever, you are overrated. Or in kobes case, If people think he is top 10 ever he is overrated. Kobe is great, but overrated.

 

There's a big difference. Shaq and Olajuwon played in the same era as Jordan.

A lot of people regard Kobe as the best player in his era...but his hardware says otherwise.

I think Chris Paul was more deserving than Kobe that year.

One of the criteria of MVP is team record. In 2006, the Lakers were 45-37. The Suns were 54-28, and they were able to achieve that despite losing Stoudemire for the season.

In 2007, the Lakers won even fewer games. They finished the season at 42-40. Meanwhile, Dirk led the Mavs to the best record in the league.

Not only did Kobe not deserve it in those years, he shouldn't even have been in the discussion.

 

Shaq spent most of his dominating time post Michael Jordan.

What's your point about Paul? I already said KB didn't deserve it that year.

There is no actual MVP criteria. It goes to the Most Valuable Player. The voters do tend to pick the best player from the top 3-4 teams, but they don't have to.

 

Officially? No. Unofficially? Yes. So there is a criteria. If you look at the last 20 or so MVP's, you'll notice a trend.

 

I said as much. Doesn't make it right. Team record should be a factor, but not the first factor.

 

He was good on a great Detroit team and I do agree that the Bulls needed a frontcourt guy.

Still, I don't think he's the greatest rebounder of all time. That's ridiculous. Are you telling me that Dream could not have matched or surpassed Rodman's rebounding numbers if all he cared about was rebounding? If Dream only rebounded and wasn't concerned about being the main option on O and perhaps the greatest paint defender ever he could have put up Rodman numbers. Why call for the ball when it takes you away from the basket? Why go for a block when it takes you out of rebounding position?

Looking at Rodman's numbers, there were years where he got over 15 rpg and yet put up scoring numbers like 4.7 and 5.5 PPG. How do you get 15+ rebounds and not score more than 5 points per game? How are you the image of hustle, but can't hustle your way to average 5 PPG? 7 times Rodman led the NBA in rebounding but not once in those years did he crack 10 PPG. His scoring average for those 7 years: 6.4 PPG.

Plus, as noted above, when asked to be just the second best guy on a team he folded dramatically and after two years in Detroit, his playoff production declined significantly from his regular season numbers.

Meanwhile, Dream led the NBA in rebounding twice and averaged 24.8 and 24.3 PPG. Barkley led the NBA in rebounds once and scored 23 PPG that year. Both those guys had more double digit rebound years than Rodman. Dream also averaged over 3 times Rodman's PPG, 5x Rodman's BPG, 2.5x SPG, and 2x APG. Not to mention being the guy who anchored both the offensive and defensive ends for his team. Oh, and he made more All-NBA defensive teams than Rodman.

But yes, Rodman is the best ever because he neglected other aspects of his game and did it in a flashy way on TV. It's too bad Dream and Barkley and others had things to do besides rebounding, like leading their team.

Rodman is perhaps the biggest con job ever in the NBA. It's a sham he's in the Hall of Fame. You look at similarity scores on Basketball Reference, Rodman's up there with such giants of the game as Rashard Lewis, Sheed, Bobby Dandridge, and A.C. Green. Dream has Moses, Shaq, Russell, and Lanier. Barkley has Erving, Bird, Malone, and Pettit.

(This is not meant to compare Dream and Rodman. There is no comparison. It does illuminate the difference between a worthy Hall of Famer and a very good role player that got in on image over substance.)

(Edit: Barkley and Dream also had more career rebounds than Rodman)

 

Kobe is arguably top ten.

 

Thanks for making my point. He is a great player, but he is overrated. He is not top 10.

 

Who is top 10?

Jordan
Magic
Olajuwon
Bird
Oneal
Kareem
Wilt
Russell
Duncan
Robertson

Kobe is close if nothing else.

 

He arguably is. You can't name ten players that are for sure better than Kobe. Just because you wouldn't have him in your top ten doesn't mean he is overrated. He clearly deserves to be in the discussion.

 

Lebron is ahead of kobe already imo and is already top 10. I'd put kobe around 15

 

Kobe isn't overrated and he is who he is. Kobe isn't Jordan or Magic or Bird. At the end, Kobe will go down as one of the great players ever. Only a few players scored over 30,000 points and he is now one of them. Kareem, Malone, Jordan, Wilt and now Kobe...

 

.....

 

Really? I can't think of a year when he actually deserved it over the guy who actually won it.