What the hell.. Kobe has HOFers on his team that are better than Duncan's HOFers and the Lakers barely made the playoffs....
most logical reason to take Duncan over Kobe Kobe is an once in a lifetime player - so is Duncan - personally I believe that Duncan has had way more to do with his team's success than Kobe has throughout their careers. He may add that 5th ring this year which would mean 13 years between championships which I believe would be a record for years between championships if people want to talk longetivity. Add in that Kobe came in directly from high school while duncan spent 4 years in college - granted that will skew each of their stats (or you can debate it hurt/helped either player) Duncan also appears to be a much better teammate from Kobe - forgot chasing this guy out or what - but outside of Phil Jackson Kobe has gone through coaches, teammates have criticized kobe as well. You dont hear that about Duncan and in fact he took less money for the greater good says a lot about him as well.
This is an extremely hard debate...comparing player that play and dominate two completely diifferent positions... However if I was a GM trying to build a team, you have to pick Duncan... Just because every year we try counting out the Spurs, they have kept winning...Im not sure of the exact data...but I think they have won 50 plus every year except one(season cut short because of games)...that is really so remarkable... Duncan played with David Robinson, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli as his top players ever... Kobe has played with Shaq, Pau Gasol, Bynum and Howard... Just based on Name recognition, Kobe played with more dominant players in the post than Duncan has..Duncan had David one year, and then had to have others step up to help him acheive his four rings...Duncan played with a better basketball team, while Kobe played with a future surefire HOF and scrubs and got to the promise land... Duncans' success is the combination of dominant post play by 1 person, where as Kobe really needed his bigs in order to be a champion... Individually, Kobe is a scoring machine; but Duncan is someone I would build my team around...
I know that should piss off Kobe fans because there is no arguing with that. Kobe is over rated by far just from what he did with the team this season.
Some counterfactual thinking may help put things in perspective: How many rings do you think Kobe wins playing in San Antonio for his career where he doesn't have the luxury of the biggest budget in the league and the refs trying to gift playoff series to the Lakers (e.g. Portland and Sacramento series)? Now how many rings do you think Duncan wins playing in LA where they have the budget and the allure to surround him with tons of talent on the order of prime Shaq? BTW, if Duncan and Shaq played together, it would be the most absurdly talented frontline and a guaranteed title every year and Shaq wouldn't have been driven out after only 3. BTW, why doesn't the Lakers' titles where Donaghy rigged the games get the asterisk Phil always says should come with the Spurs' 99 title?
Kobe didn't play college ball. He had four more chances of making all-NBA teams. Duncan is definitely better all-around, especially if he wins this year again. Kobe has huge advantage being in a big city with big budget. Kobe is a bit more clutch, I'll give you that.
How about # of rings Horry got? Rings without FMVP weigh much lighter in player comparison if both players have rings.
You mean list reasons why Kobe gets the nod over Duncan right? At least thats what I hope you mean.... 3 FMVPs vs 2 2 MVPs(should have gotten one over Malone too) vs 1 iffy MVP Superior peak by a good margin and more impactful player due to his impact on D. Better teammate and leader. Similar longevity(remember Duncan can into the league a lot later).
http://www.ibtimes.com/kobe-bryant-vs-tim-duncan-lakers-or-spurs-star-best-player-michael-jordan-1281127 Spoiler Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs made the 2013 NBA Finals on Monday night with their 93-86 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. The win gave the Spurs a sweep of the Western Conference Finals. It’s the fifth trip to the Finals for Duncan, who’s in 16th career season. Since he was drafted in 1997, the big man has been one of the best players in the league. He is often overlooked, but the success he’s having even this late in his career is causing many to put his career into perspective. When Michael Jordan retired from the Chicago Bulls for the second time in 1998, the NBA lost its biggest star. While LeBron James has been heralded as the best player of his generation, there has been some debate about who is at the top of the list in the era between his and Jordan’s. For many, Kobe Bryant has had the best career since the late 1990’s. Duncan, though, can also argue that that he’s been the best player of the past two decades. Who took over for Jordan as the best player in the NBA? An in-depth look at the careers of Duncan and Bryant might help answer that question. Statistics The most impressive thing about Duncan and Bryant may be their longevity. The two have played close to 1,500 games each in their careers, and still performed like superstars in 2012-2013. Bryant has always been a more dominant scorer. He won the scoring title twice and is averaging 25.5 points per game for his career. Duncan has put up 20.2 for his career, including 17.8 this season. Duncan, however, has proven to be one of the most complete players in the game. Seven times he’s averaged a double-double, something Bryant has never accomplished. Duncan has also put up 3.1 assists and 2.2 blocks per game since entering the league. Bryant has been criticized for taking too many shots, but he has managed to average at least five assists per games nine times. Accolades Only a handful of professional basketball players can match Duncan and Bryant with the number of awards they’ve received throughout their career. With Duncan at power forward and Bryant at shooting guard, the two have clearly separated themselves as the best performers at their respective positions since they came into the league. Each player has missed the All-Star Game just two times in their career. Bryant has been named the game’s MVP four times, while Duncan has taken the award home once. The Spurs star won the regular season MVP twice, compared to Bryant’s one victory in 2008. In Bryant’s 17 seasons, he’s made the All-NBA First Team 11 times. Duncan has done so 10 times. Team Success No NBA player has been a more consistent winner in the past 20 years than Duncan. The Spurs have reached the playoffs in all of his 16 seasons, and they have never had a regular season winning percentage less than .610. Gregg Popovich has been with San Antonio for just as long as Duncan has, and players like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have won several titles with the club, but Duncan has been the centerpiece of the team throughout that time. Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers haven’t had quite the same consistent success as the Spurs. They missed the postseason in 2005 and three other times had a winning percentage of less than .600. However, L.A. has had fewer disappointments in the playoffs, winning five titles to the San Antonio’s four. This trip to the Finals is Duncan’s fifth, while Bryant has made it to the last round seven times.
How many HOFers did Kobe have his last two rings? None. Stupid debate. Plus Duncan admitted he's riding Parker's coattails at this point in his career. This while Kobe single handedly carried the Lakers this season while willing them into the postseason. No comparison People who have personal hatred towards Kobe would pick ANYBODY over him. Its a no win for Kobe
Definitely Duncan. Lakers would do fine without Kobe but Spurs would be in very very bad shape without Duncan.
Err Kobe rode Shaq's coattails for his first 3. And what on earth does willed his team to the playoffs mean? San Antonio aren't trying to finish 7th and lose in the first round, they're trying to win the thing, so of course you don't want a 37 yo Duncan any more than 35 yo Kobe as your team leader, one of those 2 realises it though.
Two very different players. That's like asking who's really more dominant, Jordan or Shaq? Duncan is overall more consistent, but when Kobe's in a zone, nobody can stop him. Defensively Duncan is much better, because big men are always more valuable than guards in that respect. Also, Thegreatone is wrong because the majority of fans take Kobe over Duncan. You can argue that Duncan is underrated, but there's no denying that Kobe is just more popular, plain and simple. You think fans in China/ The Philippines give two ****s about Timmy? That simple
I like Duncan don't get me wrong and the spurs are playing great basketball but if Westbrook doesn't go down, the entire landscape of the west would be different in the playoffs. I think Thunder still make it back to finals with westbrook or at least push the spurs to 6-7 games.
I think the Thunder were really hurt by the Harden trade, and that without him the Spurs still would have prevailed. Don't see Ibaka/Perkins shooting lights out again, because they sure didn't show up this year against Memphis.
Phil Jackson says Pau Gasol is a Hall of Fame player If Bynum has no injury problems and keeps averaging 19 and 12 he might make it. Odom won't but his best season 17/10/4 isn't bad at all.
5th title (against Boston) was the one where Pau was arguably (very easy argument to make) the best player for the Lakers - http://www.behindthebasket.com/btb/2010/6/19/pau-gasol-the-real-finals-mvp.html
