[WizardofOzParticipant]

I know I’m probably going to get a lot of negatives for this, but just listen carefully to what I have to say.

I hate when people say that Kobe isn’t better than Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, etc. He’s won more championships than most people he is compared to but they say he isn’t better than them because “3 out of 5 of the championships, he had Shaq.” But people fail to realize that the rosters of Boston and the Lakers when Magic Johnson were even better than the Lakers roster when they had Kobe and Shaq. People say Kobe had Shaq but Larry Bird had Robert Parrish, Danny Ainge, Kevin McHale, and Dennis Johnson. And when Magic Johnson was on on the Lakers, they had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, A.C. Green, Michael Cooper, and Jamaal Wilkes. Those two rosters are way better than the roster the Lakers had when they won championships with Shaq and Kobe. Kareem is arguably the greatest center in NBA history, so he was like Magic Johnson’s Shaq. And Larry Bird had a lot of help.

And I’m not saying Kobe Bryant is better then Michael Jordan, but Jordan had a lot of help too. People think Jordan had no help when he won those championships, but he had Scottie Pippen. People underestimate how good Scottie Pippen was. He is one of the 50 greatest players. And Jordan also had something Kobe didn’t have, he had pure shooters. Jordan had Steve Kerr and some other great shooters. If Kobe had some pure shooters, the Lakers would be doing much better. And Kobe arguably had a more productive career than Magic and Bird. So if somebody says that Kobe is better than Bird, Magic, or any other player except Jordan, I’m not going to argue with them.

And some people even used to say that when T-Mac was in his prime he was better than Kobe. That year T-Mac lead the league in scoring, If Kobe didn’t have Shaq, he would’ve lead the league in scoring. Just look at when Shaq left. When Shaq left, Kobe lead the league in scoring in his second year without Shaq. He even averaged more points then T-Mac when he lead the the league in scoring. He even scored 81 points that year. Imagine how many points Kobe could have averaged if he didn’t have Shaq those years. That’s when he was young ad had all his athleticism. He could have been the leading scorer every year. I’m just giving you guys something to keep about.

And don’t think I’m hopping on Kobe because used to hate Kobe.

[WrecklessParticipant]

True shit right here.

[Bryant24Participant]

i feel u man not cuz im just a kobe fan neither

[llperez]

truth is other then maybe mike, you can aruge kobe over any other player. So its really just opinion and anybody who says he clearly isnt better then this guy or that guy are just hating. Shaq in his prime was absolutley dominating around the paint. He was putting up like 35 and 15 in the finals. Bird and Magic would have been option number 2 as well.

[Malik-UniversalParticipant]

its still difficult to compare kobe to magic or bird when kobe isnt even done winnin championships and memorbilla

[SubZeroParticipant]

Yeah like llperez said, it’s all a matter of opinion. On my list, I have Kobe just under MJ. If it’s pure talent, he’s definitely #2 and add all his accomplishments and whatnot, I say he’s the 2nd greatest of all time. Some might say Magic, Wilt, Kareem, etc. and I have no problem with that. They are all legends

[IknoBall12Participant]

i wasnt always a kobe fan. but it was more of the reason that he was playin with shaq and i hated shaq. I had always been a Tmac fan when he was with the magic and going bonkers on people. it wasnt till i watched a game where kobe and tmac went head 2 head and tmac was getting killed that i realized how good kobe was. kobe was jus so methodical and seemed to hit any and everything.

[Michael.S.Participant]

Era’s…Different era’s.

It’s hard to compare players from different generations. Wilt Chamberlain could honestly be considered the bst by people tht seen hm play…we never have, or atleast most of us haven’t. I mean Oscar Robertson averaged a triple double… Then Bird and Magic ran their era..Jordan dominated in his time..Then Kobe did too. I don’t get why people always try to judge players that played decades apart. They are all legends.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

All the people that say that Magic and Bird are better than Kobe are too emotionally attached to those players. The analyst grew up watching Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and they can’t let go of there generation. They just don’t want the new generation of players to be better than the players they grew up idolizing. I grew up watching Kobe so maybe I’m biased, but that’s just what I think.

And sorry for the bad grammar in the first post. I was rushing and I don’t type that fast.

[goneParticipant]

Just something to point out it seems that when people tend to compare players there weaknesses seem to get lost in time for example Big O did average triple double but he was a terrible defender and Wilt had the worst free throw % until Shaq and Big Ben came along just know that when you compare players take into consideration there weaknesses and not only strengths

[llperez]

yeah, its easy to remember all the good stuff from past players without remembering the negatives. Oscar rarely ever got out of the first round of the playoffs and missed the playoffs entirely like 4 times. Magic was getting killed in the LA media for poor playoff performances and was nicknamed "Tragic" Johnson in los angles after the finals when he struggled. West went 1-9 in NBA finals, people would be killing kobe if he went 1 for 10 in the nba finals, i dont care who the comp was.

[bobforteParticipant]

Its not just about Basketball and i know that sounds bad but its true. Those players were great and so is kobe but its not the same because of what they did to the sport. The late 70’s basketball was all but dead the league was thought of as a drug filled place and what bird and magic did was save the sport the revitalized it. They were great basketball players im not arguing that they had to be to save the sport but its part of why they are considered so great. Kobe is an amazing player his basketball play might be second best but in my opininon its not just about basketball when your considering the greatest to play the game. I know people love kobe and im not saying he is not better im just saying that people wont consider him better because of that. Im sure most of you will take this the wrong way but thought i would put it out there anyway.

[llperez]

the 80’s saw a revitalized image thanks to magic and bird no question. Jordan then came in and really was the first to dominate the marketing and comericals and show how much a player can do with his brand. But that cant be held against todays players. Theres nothing todays guys can do match the impact on the game from the 80’s becasue the sport is already so well known world wide.

[bobforteParticipant]

yeah i suppose that is true but i feel that is part of the reason those guys are thought of as a couple of the greatest. If i had the second pick of all time to create a team it would prb be kobe. Although it would be hard to pass on the centers.

[llperez]

yeah i hear you. Kareem in particular is one guy i couldnt argue with being placed ahead of kobe. He did it for so long and played both ends and hit ft’s and is the best center of all-time imo.

[bullsfan121212]

i have kobe ninth on my list but he is 31 and can jump up a few spots easily with another championship.

i know this is a kobe dyck sucking marathon in here but he was carried on shaqs back for three rings. pippen has 6 rings is he better than kobe. no one would argue that cuz pippen road on jordans back. pippen a great player yes. one of the greatest no. kobe has led his team to a championship twice. Being great is leading your team to a championship. not scoring a bunch of points in a losing effort. Magic has 3 finals MVPs to kobe’s 2. as does duncan and shaq. magic has three finals mvps for supposedly not playing well in the playoffs.

kobe’s nba finals fg%

2000- 36.6%
2001- 41.5%
2002- 51%
2004- 38%
2008- 40.5%

I’m suprised as you guys how much kobe chokes when it matters most. these number are embarrasing. people forget so easily now that he has won two in a row. what is great about these numbers again.

my top 10
jordan
russell
magic
duncan
shaq
kareem
wilt
bird
kobe
hakeem

[Demarcus OnealParticipant]

5× NBA Champion (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010)
2× NBA Finals MVP (2009–2010)
NBA Most Valuable Player (2008)
12× NBA All-Star (1998, 2000–2010)
2× NBA scoring champion (2006–2007)
8× All-NBA First Team (2002–2004, 2006–2010)
2× All-NBA Second Team (2000–2001)
2× All-NBA Third Team (1999, 2005)
8× All-Defensive First Team (2000, 2003–2004, 2006–2010)
2× All-Defensive Second Team (2001–2002)
NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1997)
3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2002, 2007, 2009)
NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner (1997)
Naismith Prep Player of the Year (1996)

for the last four years kobe has averaged nearly 30 pts per game shooting 40 percentage from the field thats not exactly choking and

http://www.82games.com/gamewinningshots.htm

Kobe has the highest percentage for gamewinning shots in playoffs

[WizardofOzParticipant]

I don’t care how much Kobe choked, if the Lakers didn’t have him in game 7, they would’ve lost.

[bullsfan121212]

yea an other people have better careers than him. duncan has a 1 more mvp, finals mvp, first team nba, 3 more second team defenses.

kobe shot 41 % in his first five nba finals. name somebody esle you would put in the sentence of one of the greatest that did that. you wont find one i promise

the only reason the lakers won is because shaq shooting percentage made up for it. and the refs of course.

[Mr.BigShotParticipant]

Its not always about Field Goal percentage, Kobe rebounded well, and got to the free throw line, you acted like Jordan never had bad games. I would rather choke one game, then an entire series, like Lebron did.

[Demarcus OnealParticipant]

the stats can only say so much when it comes down to it, when the games is on the line and Kobe Bryant has the ball and your favourite team has a one point lead with 10 seconds left is their a player you fear more then Kobe Bryant

[llperez]

kobe has had some poor shooting performances in the finals. But oh well, he does other things and leads the lakers to victory when it counts more often then not. Even game 7, he single handidly outrebounded the celtics entire starting front court and held rondo in check on defense and still managed to get double digits in the 4th quarter by getting to the free throw line.

[leppyParticipant]

his first five finals. when he lost twice and road on shaq’s back for three of them. only one finals there last one in the three-peat he shot well at 51%. he still averaged 41% in his first five. its like when iverson won the mvp and shot 40%. its a joke a player can chuck up that many shots and be called a good player. who can’t average 40% shooting all day. not one other player you would mention as one of the greatest has shot anything close to 41% in his first five finals.

the last two season he has been the best. he still ranks 9th in my book and hes only 31.

[Author]

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