Is that the first response to anyone that doesn't think Harden is gods gift to basketball? Good for you. I'm pretty sure you've never actually played organized basketball, but please watch a few games before you start commenting on conflicting opinions. Yeah, Harden is a stud fantasy basketball player because most leagues don't factor defensive intelligence and flopping tends to help if your league counts shots taken since Harden doesn't get charged a shot taken when he jumps sideways into the nearest defender to flop a foul call. Until the refs get new rules from NBA rules committee regarding lateral flop tactics (similar to Reggie Miller rule), Harden will continue to throw up fake efficiency stats. I admit that Kobe's kryptonite is that he is a street baller by nature, but if Harden played some street games, he would not even be in the same league or even sport as Kobe in his prime. You don't get those calls at Rucker Park.
Harden is on a different tier to Kobe right now. Kobe is washed up and not even amongst the top 5 SG's in the NBA today let alone the best. Kobe is amongst the most over-rated great players ever. He is not in the top 10 GOAT players and will never be. He just took a lot of shots and bricked plenty giving him the name Kobrick. His defense has always been over-rated. Comparing Harden to Kobe right now is ludicrous.
This topic is sooo complicated. On one hand I am not a Kobe fan, I think his fans gas him up through the roof and put him in all time conversations that he doesnt belong in. That said the last time Kobe was healthy James Harden wasn't better. If Kobe comes back healthy next year even at his advanced age James Harden wont be be better unless he takes a big step in becoming a 2 way player.
If Kobe can stay healthy, there is no guarantee to that. That competitive fire is something that Harden has yet to show. Kobe is also very very capable of playing great defense even at this age. Until Harden brings it on both ends of the court, an ild wise Kobe will take the throne once again.
You've been around a long time I'm shocked you would post that. Kobe had Dwight and couldn't even win 50 games. James led the rockets that season to one less win with parsons in his 2nd year as the 2nd best player. Harden was also 23. Kobe has nvr been as effiecnt as harden plus harden has that clutch factor too he was better than anyone down the stretch last yr. Kobe is a legend but he hasn't been better than harden in 2 seasons and the numbers and wins back it up. Plus Kobe can't even stay healthy he's old and logged more minutes than anyone playing right now. He player 6 games last year and broke his knee. He's not the same and I'll be shocked if he puts up more than 18 a game.
I disagree. The last time Kobe was healthy, he and Harden both had a PER of 23 and very similar numbers. LA barely made the playoffs with a better supporting cast than the Rockets had, and they were one of the biggest disappointments in league history. The Rockets overachieved, mainly because of Harden. Give me Harden in 2012.
It's like people forgot the first year of Harden. When the clouds broke through and we started to get noticed again. I guess it's the string of 1st round disasters and Rockets fans becoming more cynical than a traditional fan could be.
lol If Kobe comes back 100% healthy he would be able to give everyone a run but it is likely he will ever be 100% again ever. I don't question Kobe as I know he will do everything he can to condition himself back but it would be a medical miracle. Miracles rarely happen but is possible. Until he shows he has come back Harden is the best SG in the world.
As an elite SG and player, he passed Kobe, last season. That's only because Kobe got injured towards the end of the season, which also happened to be one of his better seasons shooting-wise. As he is right now, Harden will never become as great as a peak Kobe (02-09), which was one of the most unstoppable players in history. Kobe was a superior athlete, playmaker, clutch shooter, and defender. Also, Kobe maybe the toughest shot-maker ever, while being the best player of his generation: NBA players drafted in the late 90s. Sort of like MJ and Shaq, he often was his own worst enemy with his conceit. But, he survived as the best wing player in a generation of A.I.; T-Mac; Vinsanity; and Jesus Shuttleworth.
lol It would take Harden at least 10 more years before we can compare to a Kobe. And I am a huge Harden fan. We are lucky to have him.
Harden is already a better playmaker and clutch shooter, Kobe isn't really a playmaker though, he's just more of a scorer, maybe the 3rd most gifted I've ever seen (never saw Wilt play) and probably the 2nd best mid range jump shooter i've seen, the reason he takes all those hard shots is because he doesn't have the same peripheral vision (which is basically a necessity for a playmaker) so doesn't notice where open men are when the defense converges on him. As for clutch, a lot of players are more clutch than Kobe, because he's not very clutch at all, quite literally the epitome of volume shooter in that regard.
ehh Tim Duncan is the best player of their generation. I agree that kobe was a great player, and one fo the best of his generation, but he is overrated by his fans. He is not the best of his generation, and he is not a top 10 all time (top 20 is debatable) I really hate the "toughest shot-maker ever" label. Kobes biggest problem was that he kept taking these difficult shots. If he would have had a better basketbal IQ or better mindset he would use his teammatees better and he wouldn't have to take these difficult shots.
I realize the length of Kobe's career and the number of title teams he was on will skew many into thinking Kobe is a Top 10 all-time great, but I have never seen that he is better than most all the others that ever played. Kobe has NEVER won anything on his own. He has ALWAYS had at least one, usually two other allstars on his teams that require double teams, and Kobe has NEVER been a clutch player. Robert Horry and Derek Fisher are the clutch shooters that put the lakers over the top, and Shaq for the first 3 and Gasol for the last 2 are the Allstar big men that allowed Kobe the space and freedom to score the points he did, and get the rings he has. Kobe, without those allstar, future hall of fame big men, Kobe wins 0 rings on his own. Truth, Fact, Without dispute. Kobe will finish with amazing stats, but he cant win on his own, and Harden has been the better all-around player for 2+ years, not to mention a better teammate since he set foot on the court, whenever. Kobe is NOT a team player, he gets rings cuz he HAD great teammates, but he is a condescending teammate, and an egotistical ass.
While i agree with your sentiment. Most championship team had atleast 2 allstars who demanded double teams (Rockets 1994 is an exception, that is what makes Hakeems championship so ipressive). What I feel is a better reason why Kobe's 5 championships are not that impressive is because with 3 of them he was not the best player on the team. For me championships count a lot more if you were the best player on that team.
