You can throw Paul Pierce and Ray Allen into that argument, for starters. Allen Iverson isn't bad at it, etiher. The gap between the best shooting guards/small forwards is a lot smaller than the gap between the best power forwards/centers is - and combining their size with their dominance and overall game, I think Duncan and Shaq are a lot better and more integral to their team's success than Kobe would be on a team by himself.
You put Shaq behind either PP, AI, or Tracy Mcgrady, and they very well could be. About the rings thing...does anyone think that if you put Duncan with Shaq, they would have any fewer rings than Shaq and Kobe have today? I'd think they'd have 1 more. The logic on using rings to compare Shaq, Kobe, and Duncan is ridiculous. Shaq and Kobe have each other, Duncan has an old and over the hill David Robinson. The fact that he swept through Shaq and Kobe in 1999 is amazing. Switch Kobe and Duncan around, and Kobe would have no rings; Duncan would more than likely have 4. Goodbye Showbe.
Dude, who are you arguing with? I voted Kobe out ahead of Duncan and Shaq as well. I just said that after Shaq and Duncan, that T-Mac and Kobe are on a tier of their own. Maybe you should try and read the whole thread 1st.
Sorry, I wasn't being clear. I was referring to whoever compared the three using the amount of rings with the second part of my post. I should be clearer next time. My response to you was about your all-league defender remark. Only the first paragaph of my post corresponds to your post.
Shaq. For Kobe to stand out this much at a position with many, many good players is a very big deal. Who are the top 5 centers in the NBA? Who are the top 5 shooting guards in the NBA? its just too easy.
But does he really? Shaq is by far the most dominant player in the league and the best center in the league - and one of the best ever. Kobe is the equal of at least one SG/SF - McGrady - and only slightly trailed by others like Carter, Iverson, and Pierce. To me, Kobe doesn't stand out from the others except that he has 3 rings, all a result of playing with the aforementioned most dominant player in the league. That's not enough to distinguish him until we can see what he can do on his own. Kobe might stand out in the swingman-weak west, but this isn't Western Conference Survivor. This is NBA Survivor, and Kobe is only slightly better at best than the aforementioned swingmen.
