0 in those stretches. Goes to show you that basketball is won by a team not a player. Kobe would have exactly 0 rings if it wasn't for Shaq or Gasol/Bynum. Same could be said about Jordan with Pippen, Magic with Kareem vice versa, Lebron with Wade/Bosh, Bird with McHale/Parish. Kobe is a worse player than any of these guys but was lucky enough to play with two different sets of super teammates. I hate hate hate the "rings argument". Only superstar to win without a top 15 player as a teammate in the modern era is Hakeem.
I'll take the guy with no ego and no drama. I know I can fit any piece around Durant. Build my team in any way imaginable. I don't feel like stroking Kobe's ego to keep things going smoothly.
durant, his FG% and rebounding is much better while everything else is kinda same. Give me single aspect of game in which kobe exceeds durant.
Durant. Durant is more efficient, and less selfish. How many 6'9 guys have had 50/40/90 seasons shooting the ball?
I wonder how many rings Kobe would've had if Memphis didn't gift him Gasol Probably would've ended his career with bunch of first/second round exits
2006-07 NBA Los Angeles Lakers* 42 40 P. Jackson (42-40) 2005-06 NBA Los Angeles Lakers* 45 37 P. Jackson (45-37) 2004-05 NBA Los Angeles Lakers 34 48 R. Tomjanovich (24-19), F. Hamblen (10-29) Kobe without a HOF big man.
I'm prepared to receive the backlash that I'm about to set myself up for. But I have to say it... Hakeem was NOT substantially better than Shaq. Many say that he wasn't better at all. Shaq pays homage to Hakeem, as he should. As evevery big man should. But arguements can be made for either player as far as who was better overall. And "substantial" is one word that cannot be used in that arguemnt. For either player.
People seem to focus on this chucking thing w/ Kobe, but fail to mention at one point he carried a team with Smush Parker as his starting PG, and Kwame Brown as his starting center to the playoffs. Nor KD or LBJ have been on a team that damn bad
I was more addressing the sorriness of the Lakers squads than the greatness of the current Thunder roster outside of Durant. However, I have to disagree with the Thunder not making the playoffs if Durant was out. I think they would still be a top 4 seed without Durant and a healthy Westbrook but I probably believe in Westbrook more than a lot of people on this board. I also agree that the Lakers probably still 3peat with Durant instead of Kobe but I think people too easily try to sub players in for Kobe and say the Lakers still win. They battled against some good Blazers and Kings teams and I wouldn't be surprised at all if Durant/Shaq had lost to one of them.
Lebron took a team that had an old Ilgauskas as their second best player to the NBA Finals at age 22. Tracy McGrady took a team that had Pat Garrity as their second best player into the playoffs.
Pau Gasol is not a HOF caliber center, lmao You guys will do ANYTHING to discredit Kobe's accomplishments. I wonder what MJ's record was without a HOF SF
He did it in a TERRIBLE conference in which he advanced on a obvious traveling violation that was not called. Nice try
