Putting Lebron in that category after one ring kinda discredits your point. I also dont understand the whole "if Kobe never had a superstar" knock. How many rings did Jordan win w/o Pippen (top 50 greatest & Hof)? Did Magic win a ring without Kareem (arguably best center ever)...Bird had Mchale all his championships too. All these stars had HOF sidekicks yet Kobe haters only apply that argument to him. Sidenote: Kobe went through a rebuilding phase and actually won two rings with Pau Gasol as his best player lol. Gasol is NOT anywhere near Kareem, Mchale, Pippen level
When Kobe won his titles in 09-10 he had the best front court in basketball and the only team with comparable talent was Boston. His title teams were stacked just like the other dudes you mentioned. It's funny how folks discount a HOD guy in Gasol or having a Bynum/Gasol/Odom frontline.
You can make the argument every title team has been stacked outside of the Pistons and our teams 94 & 95. That's not the point. If someone's knock on Kobe is he "needed another superstar" to win a ring then how this doesn't apply to Jordan, Magc, Bird or any other legend lol. Compare Kobe's 09 team to any of Mj's Chicago teams and tell me who had more help? Jordan had 3 HOF players Kobe had none. Jordan retired before the Bulls starting rebuilding Kobe went through a very terrible stretch with Kwame Brown as his center. Lebron's championship is tainted more than any of Kobe's imo
It's not tainted. With that said he did have alot of help, arguably more than Kobe from 2008-2010. I personally don't get this guy's angle. There's just as many idoits who cheer for LBJ as there are for Kobe. That said, alot of seasoned fans enjoy different perspectives on the game of bball, and therefore favor one or the other. It's almost as if he was Kobe's highschool nemesis or something. This article reeks of butthurt. Debate on
You do realize Gasol is going to the HOF, right? Kobe didn't need 3 HOF players to have the best supporting cast in 09-10. Lets not try to sell him winning with less.
Modern day basketball goat list(i dont mix with Russel, Wilts time, they have their own list) 1.Jordan 2.Kareem 3.Magic 4.Bird 5.Hakeem 6.Shaq 7.Mo.Malone 8.Duncan 9.Lebron 10.J.Erving 11.K.Malone 12.Kobe I think that's fair spot for him. I could see him as high as 10 though. 10-20 are all pretty even.
The Heat after James, Wade and Bosh (who was injured and missed about half the playoffs last year BTW) had a bunch of washed up journeymen. i mean they had to rely on Mario Chalmers - a 42% shooter, for offense in several games, and a 31 year old Wade wasn't the superstud of old but far more mortal and threw up some complete stinkers (he went 18-58 vs. Indiana for a 3 game stretch). Contrast that with the 2009 Lakers - outside of Bosh/Wade/LeBron, who even cracks their rotation from the Heat? Chalmers maybe coudl spell fisher, Battier would take Luke Walton's minutes - but the rest? No way. First, they had not one but 2 dominant big men. Odom is going to be on the court. Ariza was decent back then, so he's going to be on the court. Shannon Brown shot freaking 48% in volume from range in 2009, so thanks Mike Miller but no thanks. THe rest - Earl Anthony, Udonis Haslem? No way. That's why LeBron had to do so much during the playoffs compared to Kobe.
Wade is such a huge deal though. When healthy he is a top 5 player in a league that is usually dominated by the best players. Throw in Bosh who is a top 15ish guy and it doesn't really matter who else you have. I am in no way saying that LeBron wasn't an absolute monster last year in the playoffs but having another superstar/guaranteed hall of famer on your team is a huge deal. The Heat roster is just as talented as any post Shaq team Kobe had.
This is completely true. And, like I said back when LeBron first came to the Heat, the experiment should be considered a disappointment if they don't rack up multiple titles (eg, 3-4+ .. 6,7,8 is a bit ambitious). I thought it was amusing how much **** people gave LeBron for not winning in year #1, bagging on him for "only" getting to the Finals in his first year with any real talent. Kobe is an all-time great, probably one of the top-20 players in history. But LeBron is going to be fighting for that top-tier, the 1-5 slots that include the legends of the game. So "exposing the myth" of Kobe is really only directed at those that put him in that pantheon (which is a LOT of uninformed people).
1) He really isn't a top 5 player when healthy though, not if others are healthy. You aren't taking Wade over LeBron, Kobe, Durant, CP3 or Howard. Probably not over Melo, Rose, Dirk, Duncan or Westbrook either. 2) He wasn't healthy last year when they won. And they beat a team just as talented in the Finals, with Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka and Harden (all healthy by the way, unlike Wade). OKC was actually favored to win the Finals.
Sweet, that's the same video someone posted in the "conspiracy" thread. I'm so glad this is getting some real media press. If it goes viral, the NBA may actually have to address this embarrassment.
Pau was arguably better than Kobe those two seasons, but Kobe kept shooting (inefficiently) to make it look like he was "the man."
He did win with less. Gasol's nowhere close to being a HOF player. Kobe won 2 rings with less help than Jordan, Magic, Bird, Lebron, Wilt & Russell. The argument that Kobe needed all this extra help for his rings is only talking points for an obvious Kobe hater lol. Its baseless. Somehow they never apply the "help" argument to any of theyre favorites who had the most. Very onesided debate
HOF isn't just stats or you'd have a tough time justifying kc jones, joe dumars, james worthy etc. Fact is, Gasol has good numbers, is a two time champion (should be one-time finals mvp but whatever) and has had a stellar international career. He's a lock.
