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

I do like arguments about more specific things, like was the better scorer or clutch performer. That can be interesting when new facts I haven't considered are brought up.

 

Well, if that ever happens, yes, it probably will be interesting.

Best of luck with that...

 

nobody is denying that kobe is great but when you made the thread you asked "how is he not the greatest player to play this game"

but how are you the greatest player of all tie yet not even he greatest shooting guard of all time?

 

I don't think you're the one to be dishing out the "biased opinion" tag. I'm willing to be you have a higher % of posts discussing Kobe than you do the Rockets at this point.

 

Yeah, I forgot how different Kobe's teams were...

Triangle offense coached by Phil Jackson
Dominant big man in the post (2 of them the second time)
Veteran PG with younger backup
Small forward change after first championship
Long 3/4 off the bench

HOW ON EARTH COULD KOBE ADJUST TO SUCH RADICAL CHANGES

 

Alright.

Jordan has 6, and he was the undisputed best player on his team all 6 times.

The "main playmaker". Not "the best player". Not the guy the defense had to focus the most attention on. But the main playmaker. Fine.

His team won 34 games after Shaq departed. And you forgot to mention that the Lakers added Lamar Odom, who was the Heat's best player the year before the Shaq trade and became the Lakers' second best player. I thought at the time that 34 wins was underachieving for that group.

The following year with Phil Jackson back on board and some improved depth the Lakers improved to 45 wins. Kudos to Kobe and Phil for that.

To say he was "STILL" the franchise player is misleading, because it seemingly implies that Kobe was to his first 3 championship teams what he is to his current team and what Jordan was to all 6 of his championship teams. But the difference is obvious and has been stated over and over again. Jordan was the undisputed best player on his team for all 6 championships. Kobe has been the undisputed best player on his team for ONE championship, and maybe 2 depending how these playoffs turn up.

The first championship teams Kobe was a part of were not built around him. He was added to a team that was going to be contending for a championship even without him (why? because of Shaq). No doubt Kobe helped put those Shaq teams over the top, but he wasn't the main guy which opposing defenses focused all their attention on. That's what Jordan was for each one of his championship teams.

Kobe's greatness has already been proven, and another championship will add to it. But it does not elevate his greatness ahead of Jordan's in my eyes. Jordan won 6 championships in consecutive years where he was available all year. In those years, he won 4 MVPs and 6 Finals MVPs. Kobe's accomplishments are amazing and demanding of respect, but they do not trump Jordan's.

 

He is not even the greatest Faker ever.

 

Who will be more popular in LA once Kobe retire

Kobe or Magic

 

Popularity can be about things outside of basketball. Kobe fits into the current TMZ type culture. Kobe has the women following and asian following Magic didnt have. Rick Fox is more popular in LA than James Worthy because his off-court life is more "Showtime" than Worthy's. If Wilt Chamberlain was still alive he'd way more popular than Kareem. Probably the most popular of them all.


I think after Kobe retires we'll appreciate his career more. Because the NEXT guy after Kobe more than likely won't even have 1/5 of his accomplishments. And a couple 20 win seasons in a row will have fans dreaming back to the Kobe days.

 

Magic is the best Laker but Kobe will be more popular.

 

why is he held to that kind of standard? Why is arguably the GOAT such as MJ, did little to nothing before Pippen got there as well? Look facts show they both needed help and all star next to him to win

MJ never won a playoff series without Pippen alongside him

Without MJ, Pippen in 93/94 made the playoffs and the Bulls wouldve made the ECF if it weren't for a bad call. Its the same championship team that MJ had in years before. Not bad huh? they did so well without him

 

Yeah, but Pippen wasn't an all-star until his 3rd year. Jordan got to the conference semifinals and the conference finals in the Pippen's first two years, when he was a role player.

 

yea but he was an all star caliber player. He kept improving every year in the league. He started out in the bench and then started next year and he was a full time starter by his 3rd year. Funny how every year he improved and more involved he was the better the team became

 

Is that supposed to intimidate people, because (no offense) he looks like a stupid kid trying to imitate Hannibal Lecter.

 

For real. Every time he makes that face I wonder if he actually believes that he is looking tough?

 

Pippen's role on the team changed a lot in his 3rd season. That's when Phil Jackson became the coach, and more of the ball-handling duties were shifted from Jordan to Pippen. But in the two prior seasons, Jordan's production was off the charts. Pippen was a nice young player, as was Horace Grant, but Jordan was the only star on those teams.

 

In the moment of a game, you make faces when you hit big shots. Every superstar does it... I don't know why you're mocking Kobe for something everyone else does.

 

Hard to argue with, but for starters, he's been very lucky since the start of his career. He's lucky that he's had phil jackson as a coach and mentor, the tandem of Shaq to help him through his first championships, the cash flow of the Lakers behind him to recruit top quality players like odom and gasol, and the media magnet that is L.A.

As for him individually, he is incredibly focused and dedicated to the game, and to improving himself and his team-mates. He's extremely arrogant, but that comes with the territory. I don't like him personally, but I can respect his skills, which is probably all he could ask for out of anyone watching the game today.

 

greatest all time... hell no!

greatest of the decade... yes!