If Kobe gets his ring this year, how is he not the GREATEST?

Top 10 is certainly debatable, but top 5? I can't imagine putting him ahead of MJ, Magic, Kareem, Wilt, Bird, Olajuwon, Shaq, or Russell.

 

quickest headache ive ever gotten.

 

That's good post.

Really, Pau has made the Lakers contenders, period. With Kobe, much better Kobe than he is now, the Lakers didn't make the playoffs and than lost to the Suns twice in the 1st round.

Don't get me wrong. Kobe is one of the greatest and is clearly the best player on the Lakers team.

But in the past it was because of Shaq and even now when Kobe is the 1st option, Pau is still the difference-maker.

Just look at the Jazz series. Kobe's numbers were spectacular. But was he the main reason the Lakers won? No. It was Pau Gasol. Because of Pau's strong performances Kobe has more room to breatche, what you can see in his stats.

So to me, Pau is the Key to the Lakers' success.

 

5 rings =/= 6 rings

 

So basically you are saying =

Lakers without Kobe and with Pau will win more games

than

Lakers with Kobe and no pau?

I hate Kobe and i hate lakers, but lets not be ignorant here! Kobe is a hard working guy. He is super talented! No defense can stop him and he does not have many weaknesses. For example, don't let melo catch ball near the rim and he will not be a great player. Same with Lebron, if you can keep out of the paint.. then he is ineffective. Kobe has none, Inside/outside/left/right.. he will hurt you from any place. His determination is amazing.. and he works his ass off

Shane has tried to stop him... studies with bunch of stats. Still could not stop him. He is not physically gifted as Lebron... But he is far more talented.

He is arrogant and a jerk, but he has super talent.

He will go down as one of the greatest in NBA. Jerry west on jim rome show said that after its done, kobe will be greatest laker in history.. and yes he said, kobe>Magic

 

Russell was always the best player and the leader of his teams. Kobe won 3 with Shaq as the best player and Phil as the leader. So if you compare Kobe to Jordan/Russell/Magic/Bird, he only has 1 equivalent championship.

 

Four words:

Michael Jordan
Wilt Chamberlain

 

Before Pippen's arrival, Jordan's playoff record is 1-9, even worse than Kobe. So by your standard, Pippen should be GOAT?

 

What about Oscar Robertson?

 

Not ready to concede that just yet

Rocket River

 

He's probably too young to remember Kobe averaging 15ppg 4rpg 4apg on 36.6%FG while Shaq averaged 38ppg 16rpg 2apg on 61%FG in he 2000 NBA Finals vs. the Pacers.

 

No.... just no....

 

Don't forget Kobe led the comeback for 15 points down in 4th against Portland. Also single-handed won the game in OT for game 4 in finals with a bum ankle that bothered him all series.

Shaq was clearly the man in 2000. By 2001, however, it's more like 1A and 1B.

Kobe 29.4/7.3/6.1 and Shaq 30.4/15.4/3.2 in 2001 playoff
26.6/5.8/4.6 28.5/12.6/2.8 in 2002

 

No, I just wanted to say that Pau is as important as Kobe if the Lakers want to win.

 

I hate that this thread is in all caps. Please delete it. All I ask for being here since 99. At the very least, just edit the title to lowercase.

 

He had that sense of dominance early on in his career.... but he lost it, ever since he started showing his age...

 

im talking about the finals. kobe is nowhere near the finals performer jordan is. even in 2001 kobe wasn't great in the finals.

2000-2001 NBA Finals vs Philadelphia
Kobe 24ppg 7rpg 5apg 41.5%FG
Shaq 33ppg 15rpg 4apg 57%FG


the only time you could have a legit case for 1a 1b is the 2002 nba finals vs the nets.

Kobe 26ppg 5rpg 5apg 51%FG
Shaq 36ppg 12rpg 3apg 59%FG

i will def give kobe props there because he was great.

but if by that time kobe was 1b then, what about the 2004 NBA Finals vs. the Pistons?

22.6ppg 2.8rpg 4.4apg 38%FG
Shaq 26ppg 10rpg 1apg 63%FG

game 1 shaq got 34 points on 84% shooting while kobe got 25 points (on 27 shots) shooting 37%

or game 3 when shaq got 36/20 on 76% shooting while kobe got 20 points (on 25 shots) shooting 32%

where was 1b?

the fact still remains is that shaq out produced kobe during their title runs.

jordan never had that luxury. pippen was a great player but a sidekick and it was always 1: jordan 2: pippen. not 1a 1b

the bulls would never win a title with jordan averaging 15 points per game in the finals, or even 24 points on 41% shooting.

i resepct kobe but kobe stans make people disrespect kobe. the topic is about him surpassing jordan and sometime these kobe stans take it too far.

 

It was all about match up. East happened to have no good big man. For those 3 years, championships were won in west playoff. With Spurs, Kings being the top competitors, why don't you check the stats of those series? Kobe clearly had much better stats in Shaq in Spurs series.

 

The fact was Kobe averaged 29.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. Averaged 35 points against Spurs who had the best record in the league. In the playoffs teammate O'Neal declared Bryant the best player in the league.

Did Pippen achieve anything close to that under MJ's wing?