Will Kobe be considered the greatest Laker of all time?

Not only that but he went to the finals 9 times. 9 times!!!!!! If it weren't for the Rockets it could have been 11 times.

 

No. I think he would need to win about 3 more rings.

 

As a Celtics fan and someone who said Kobe, you Magic people are making a strong argument. Maybe my age is a built in bias. It would have been amazing to watch the big games in the 80's.

Also picking the greatest Laker is like picking your favorite ex or something.

 

Kobe will own just about every offensive record in NBA history when it is all said and done and will own all the offensive Lakers records, so I'd say the answer to this question is YES.

 

Uh, for that year Wade was better int he playoffs than Kobe has ever been. Problem with DWade isn't he hasn't stayed healthy. He may be the Gale Sayers of the NBA--but you can't take away how much of a phenom he was (check the other thread of Jordan-Kobe).

One could make a case the Logo is on par with Kobe.

 

not the ppg, not the assist, not the rebound, not the 3 pointer.

the only offensive record that he has a chance

• .....only if he chooses to play another 11+ years

is total points score in a career.

also his no-D and scant assist #.

 

Baylor was the forst real high flyer in the NBA. He was Dr J before Dr J. His numbers as you say are off the charts. Imagine if he had the luxury of the 3pt line.

 

As of today:

1:West
2:Baylor
3:Magic
4:Kareem
5:Kobe
6:Worthy
7:Shaq

When all is said and done... Kobe will top the list providing he stays healthy.

note: If you take his wholw career and not just his laker years then Wilt tops the list. I didnt include him because the bulk of his numbers were accumulated in Philly.

 

Wilt Chamberlain was pretty good. He slept with 20,000 women and didn't get accused of rape by any.

 

no

1: Magic (his place is cemented in Lakerdom)
2: Kareem
3: Kobe
4: Shaq
5: West
6: Worthy
7: Baylor (hard to believe, never won a ring)​

Anyone who knows anything about the LAL knows that Magic is #1, miles ahead of whoever #2 is.

 

Indeed.

Of course, anyone who's been here awhile knows that I think much less of Jordan than most. To me, these guys are the best ever (in no particular order): Wilt, Russell, Kareem, Hakeem, Magic, Bird, Robertson. After those guys, Jordan might be my #8.

 

That is blasphemy. Just saying MJ might be 8th on your list shows your bias and hatred towards him and makes your argument less credible IMO.

And to Rocket River.

How is it that Magic is convincingly better than MJ? If anything MJ, Bird, and Magic are all neck in neck in terms of impact and transcending the game.

 

Kobe will never catch Magic but that doesnt mean he is any less of a player. The big three, Magic, Bird, and Jordan, will never be passed by any player because they took the game to new heights.

 

unless kobe wins a few more MVPs and rings, i dont' think so. the lakers have so much greatness (magic, shaq, west, kareem, kobe). he's in the top 5 though.

 

No, especially not over Magic, Kareem, Baylor, and West.

I don't even see how is getting a nod over Shaq, I know both were pivotal in their championship run....but I sincerely believe you could replace with Kobe with lesser all-star SG and the Lakers are still 2x to 3x champion with Shaq.

THe Lakers were far more successful with Shaq on the floor than Kobe, just look at the games that didn't play together....you can see the team was slightly better with Shaq.

I sincerely believe, if you put both players in their prime on two separate teams with equal talent...Shaq is much superior player and needs less help than Kobe to get a team deep into playoffs.

Shaq (circa 94-01) vs. Kobe (05 - present)

If you put the Shaq of Orlando or the early Laker years on the modern day Miami team, that team would be 3rd or 4th in the East, easily.

If you put the same Shaq on the Lakers and traded Bryant somewhere else, the Lakers would be head and shoulders better than everybody else.

 

You're funny.

You're the one with no credibility if you don't think Wilt at least deserves mention with those three.

*Yawn*. Come back when you know anything about the game before 1980, or from any other source besides the ESPN hype machine that you've so thoroughly bought into.

 

that's just a stupid claim contradicted by facts.

• before joining the Lakers, Shaq was teamed with the all-world SG Penny Hardaway for severals years. Shaq and Penny could never win a ring. remember, they were schooled by Dream

the opposite is true---particularly on defense. Shaq has always been too lazy to defend the PNR. Kobe's stellar D warranted his selection to the all-defensive team 8 times.

what u believe is contradicted by facts. Shaq's laziness, and lack of conditioning, makes him a liability on defense. on offense he needs his mates (mainly Kobe) to feed me the ball. Kobe can create his own shot in a multiple of ways.

If Shaq would play defense, If Shaq can shoot FT > 50%, if Shaq doesn't need his mates to set him up,
If pigs can fly

 

No mention of Wilt is glaring. There are arguements for and against the numbers he put up due to the era but just look at the numbers he put up against Russell (possibly the greatest defender of all time) and not only that but a stat that is either a mistake due to faulty record keeping or something that will never be equaled, him never fouling out of a game. How is that possible?

Another thing about Magic. Until he arrived the Los Angeles Lakers had only one championship in nine attempts. With Wilt, West and/or Baylor. Kareem didn't make it to the finals until Magic came along.