Im sorry, but has Dwight been playing like the best center this year? Well first, your obviously a Kobe hater. Secondly, you can't be serious thinking Bird was a creator off the dribble lol. He was mainly a shooter who could postup. He also had one of the teams ever assembled for his rings. Its laughable ranking Kobe's 09 Lakers against any legendary teams of the past. The fact Kobe's putting up great numbers at this point in his career makes him second to only Jordan at his position and no lower than top 8.
Stan: First off, we agree! I too rank Kobe no worse than top 8 at his position. So if that's how you feel, we are on the same page and there's no reason to call me a hater. Bird was drafted to a 29 win team so I don't know if you can call that an all time great team one year later when they won the title. If so, yoh are really complimenting Bird since he was the reason they jumped over 30 wins. Bird may not have done a lot of fancy wasteful dribbling like Kobe but he was a much better playmaker. He was also the better rebounder and shooter, and a far better teammate. The only thing Kobe did better than Bird was take incredibly ill advised shots at a high viume. When that becomes a significant accomplishment on basketball, I will give him his just dues.
So Bird was a creator from the post instead of a creator off the dribble. What's your point? Maybe if you're only looking at the modern era. In no particular order, the guys I definitely have ahead of Kobe are Jordan/Magic/Bird/Duncan/Olajuwon/Shaq/KAJ/Lebron, and maybe Moses Malone. And in regards to Kobe putting up great numbers this year, you have to put it in the proper context. A lot of guys have put up great numbers at the age of 34, and the Lakers are fighting to make the playoffs. I'm far more impressed by what a 36 year old Tim Duncan has done this year.
yes, but that's not saying much There were some incredibly stacked teams in those days, Showtime, Fo-fi-fo. Bird never really played a finals where his team would have won if he was replaced by several other people like 09 (Jackson would have got his 4th threepeat if that replacement was Lebron).
YES!! Please highlight which C has been better? If me saying the truth makes me a hater than so be it. I don't care if Bird could create off the dribble. He was clearly able to create offense well enough to reach shooting levels that Kobe NEVER did. And if you think he was just a shooter who could post you don't knowing about his game. And even if that were all he could do, he still produced at a higher level than Kobe. And every year Kobe won his team was also great. No, he didn't have as much talent as the 80s Celtics in 09. He also wasn't facing teams with as much talent as the teams Bird faced in the 80s. So what's your point? Every year Kobe won his team was arguably the most talented in basketball, same for Bird.
