The longevity is immaterial, LBJ already played for 9 years he's not like some green horn out there, his career is pretty much as long as guys like Tmac or AI or whoever else in their prime years already, if you remember LBJ was already a top NBA player from the time he stepped into the NBA court. Kobe's amazing that he's still playing, but even if you take the longevity into account he still falls short, except in the mind of Kobe homers. Just think about it, 3 of Kobe's rings came as the backup to Shaq, and while he played an integral part to the 3 peat, if Kobe switched places with LBJ LBJ would still win those 3 rings...maybe even more since LBJ has no problems sharing the limelight and would be Shaq's loyal sidekick until it was time for him to take the throne. On the other hand, what has Kobe accomplished by himself? LBJ can strut around and say I took a crappy Cavs team to the NBA's best record and the Finals, Kobe's never won anything without a stacked team, the one time he had a crappy roster he got spanked by PHX and quit in the playoffs. He even threw the franchise under the bus and threatened to leave if Bynum wasn't traded for Jermaine O'neal.
more impact? melo actually took his team to the playoffs in the ultra competitive west with better stats overall. i think melo had more of an impact than lebron who couldnt take his team into the playoffs in the weak east. its a crime melo didn't get any recognition his rookie year
Denver was a better team though, not Bron's fault. ROY is mostly about stats and pure performance, and stats is where LeBron topped Melo without a doubt.
in terms of stats i feel melo has lebron beat as well melo averaged more points and rebounds, shot better percentage in every facet of the game, made less turnovers than lebron, and comparable defensive stats as well. the only thing lebron has over melo is assist.
not to take anything away from lebron, he had a great rookie season as well. just the media crowning him king while ignoring another rookies great season is blasphemous
It's because at the time, only two other rookies had ever averaged 20-5-5, the Big O and MJ. To this day, only 4 players have done so, the two others being LBJ and Tyreke.
LeBron has been dominating the league for more than 4 years. He has been at 27, 7, 7 on 47% since his 2nd year in the league. That's 10 dominant seasons counting this year. In his 10 seasons he has finished 9, 6, 2, 5, 4, 1, 1, 3, 1, 1 in MVP voting and will finish 1st or 2nd this year. In other words, he has been in the top 6 since his 2nd year and he finished 2nd in his 3rd. He led his team to the Finals in his 4th season. Saying LeBron doesn't have longevity and has only dominated the league for 4-6 seasons is quite inaccurate.
Shaq's backup? Lol. You guys will go to every extreme to discredit Kobe's rings. Shaq was the the leader on that team, but Kobe was the closer. They both needed each other. The only reason you refuse to give him credit for all his rings is because you know that's the main thing that separates him from guys like LBJ. Lebron will probably never win 5 rings (you know this too) even with the big 3 lol. Let's see how Lebron plays when Wade's no longer there and Bosh gets traded. Because until he wins a ring without his superfriends, he's not allowed in any top 5 conversation. Moving the goal post are we Like I've said, you can't call Kobe's team stacked and not mention the Miami heat. The Heat have more star power than ANY of Kobe's championship teams. You are one of the most bias posters I've seen here. Who exactly did Lebron's crappy Cleveland team beat in sorry ass east that year, besides that washed up Pistons team? I got the answer, NOBODY. The teams they beat were worse than them. You guys make these ridiculous statements, but purposely leave out details
Kobe needed Shaq specifically, Shaq needed a good SG, but not Kobe specifically. Kobe was replaceable, Shaq wasn't. Shaq was the most dominant player in the league, Kobe was a good young SG.
Proof? I keep hearing this myth, yet I recall Shaq doing plenty of late game scoring during the 3-peat run. Do you have any factual evidence to back up this claim? Let's just keep it to the playoffs from 00-02. Kobe closed most of those games? Which ones specifically?
Right. And according to you the lakers would've been better off with John Stockton than Kobe Bryant. Not wasting my time
Absolutely, a prime Stockton and Shaq would have been unstoppable, especially in the era when the Lakers won the titles with Shaq.
Kobe handles the ball up court and is doubled twice http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnIqaJbJNb0 http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q0LP7Bt6_E0 This one was incredible (against Ruben Patterson) http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nH-0gLhqpJg http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NLOMEmRQ40U Fast toward to 4:15 http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bmmgQNz6Lfs http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WSEJUSHlA1I
hahaha . . . never saw this one coming . . . hahaha . . . thanks for the icebreaker. I like Lin, I like Jordan. I had fun reading the arguments between Jordan, Kobe and Lebron. My take on the whole thread, i can see that Kobe is not really highly regarded vs. Jordan/Lebron - but people calling Kobe cheap imitation is just too much for my liking. Kobe can never beat Jordan, especially Kobe is nearing the end of his career. Lebron still has the chance - it's a wait and see. KD now is starting to appear on the radar.
That's not proof that Kobe was the closer. I could pull footage of Shaq getting crucial buckets as well. Is this all ya got?
