Why are you stuck on his age? You're telling me his two seasons with the Wizards were awful? He was still top 10 in scoring! Plus he had a lot of talent around him, including Rip Hamilton and NBA scoring champ Jerry Stackhouse. Yet failed to make the playoffs for two seasons. He actually left the Wizards in ruins by trading away future superstar Rip Hamilton and drafting Kwame Brown.
I know you Jordan jockers can't handle the truth but you can't run from it.... as great as you think Jordan was, he was nothing without Pippen, actually worse than Kobe is without Shaq.
Seems irresponsible to compare one athlete in his prime against an out-of-retirement old-man.
This is like saying 200 hockey players are better than Gordie Howe because they out played him when he unretired at age 50 , or whatever he was.
Very clearly, apples and oranges.
This is like saying 200 hockey players are better than Gordie Howe because they out played him when he unretired at age 50 , or whatever he was.
Very clearly, apples and oranges.
Kobe has done whatever was asked of him this year. He made everyone better in the early part of the season when they had a great start... He passed first got guys involved and took less shots...
Then once injuries started to add up and the team started to lose he was asked to take over the scoring load... What more can you ask of the guys this year?
Healthy roster this year and Lakers are playing for the the #4 seed... I want to see other teams records would be without playing with there #2 and #3 best players for a month +...
Then once injuries started to add up and the team started to lose he was asked to take over the scoring load... What more can you ask of the guys this year?
Healthy roster this year and Lakers are playing for the the #4 seed... I want to see other teams records would be without playing with there #2 and #3 best players for a month +...
Putting Kobe in perspective
By Jemele Hill
Page 2
<!-- hasAccess this is not a premium story --><!-- template inline -->Kobe Bryant is better than Michael Jordan.
Not more successful.
Hasn't had a bigger economic impact.
Hasn't won more MVPs.
Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images
Kobe Bryant did something Michael Jordan never
did -- score 50-plus in four consecutive games.
Hasn't won more titles.
But he's a better player.
Kobe can do everything Michael did, and even a few things Michael couldn't do.
Kobe is just as good a defender. His killer instinct is just as pronounced. He can shoot, finish and explode. And just like Jordan, the more he's pissed off, the more unstoppable he is.
At the very least, Kobe's scoring spree over the last week should put to rest any lingering doubts that he's the best player in the NBA. Yes, better than Steve Nash, who is the best point guard, but not the lethal force that Kobe is. Yes, better than Dwyane Wade, who is certainly closer to the Kobe-Jordan level than LeBron James, but D-Wade's game is not as polished as Kobe's.
Kobe's streak of four straight 50-points-plus games is something none of those players can do, and it's something that hasn't been done since Wilt Chamberlain, who had an NBA-record seven straight 50-point games. Truthfully, Kobe should have tacked another 50 on Golden State on Sunday night.
Of course, the idea that Kobe is better than Jordan -- or even the best player in this league -- is as repugnant to some folks as a rectal exam. Even though Kobe has proven himself under pressure countless times, he gets the A-Rod treatment.
Kobe can't please anyone. And it doesn't help that most people suffer from revisionist history when it comes to Jordan, forgetting that he was just as poor a teammate and a ball hog and that he ran off coach Doug Collins like Kobe ran off Phil Jackson the first time.
In fact, you could argue that Jordan was even worse. Far as we know, Kobe hasn't jacked up any of his teammates the way Jordan punched out Steve Kerr and Will Perdue at practice.
Kobe will never be forgiven for Shaq's departure, but you're delusional if you think Jordan wouldn't have had any ego issues playing alongside a player with Shaq's star power.
The best-player argument shouldn't be determined by personal dislike. But if you want to take it there, fine. Jordan was hardly the ideal husband, but only the tabloids were brave enough to venture into his personal life. And what about those gambling issues? If Jordan's life had been covered like Kobe's, we would have an entirely different opinion of His Airness.
Besides a different level of media scrutiny, there was definitely a difference in the level of competition during Jordan's heyday compared to now.
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
We ask you to step back and take an objective look. Isn't Kobe the best player in the NBA?
Yesterday's NBA player certainly was more fundamentally sound, but there's no question that today's player is bigger, stronger and faster. When Jordan played, he was a singular force that could not be equaled. Jordan was guarded by the likes of John Starks and Joe Dumars, who were fine players but weren't nearly as skilled or physically imposing as LeBron, D-Wade, Tracy McGrady or even Vince Carter.
The NBA is tougher now.
Kobe, like Michael, is surrounded with mediocre to below-average talent, and Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio are all better than the Utah, Portland and the Charles Barkley-led Phoenix team that Michael met in the NBA Finals.
Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing will be among the best centers ever, but none of them affected the league the way Shaq and Tim Duncan have. There are two two-time MVPs in Kobe's own conference (Duncan, Nash), which is a problem Jordan never faced during his championship runs. Seven-footers weren't launching 3s back then. Magic Johnson and the Lakers were on a downward spiral, and the Pistons were on their last legs. It was Michael and everyone else. That's not the case for Kobe.
The shame of it is that Kobe might finish his career without a MVP, even though his ability can be compared only to that of Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. All this time we've been looking for a player who is better than Jordan, but most of us can't get beyond whether we like or dislike Kobe as a person to recognize his contributions to the game.
Ultimately the MVP award will go to either Nash or Dirk Nowitzki, who are deserving this season, but neither are as good as Kobe. Dallas and Phoenix are strong enough to make the playoffs without their stars. The Lakers, however, are a lottery team without Kobe.
Now that's a valuable player.
Great article.
All these Kobe haters are clueless about what really happened. It wasn't Kobe that got Shaq traded. It was Shaq himself who went to the GM and demanded to be traded. Maybe he was bluffing, who knows. But it was a bad time to bluff considering the owner had just about enough of his antics and wanted him gone. Shaq once yelled "PAY ME!" to Buss during an exhibition game because he wasn't satisfied with the $30M he was already making. If that weren't bad enough, he delayed his surgery one season to start of the season because he "got hurt on company time so I'll recover on company time".... missing a month. But I guess it's all Kobe's fault.
Kobe also didn't "rape a teenager".... first of all, she was over 18, which would make her an adult. Secondly, she was so convincing and compelling during a mock trial that the prosecutors dropped the case immediately afterwards, realizing they were just patsies in her scheme to get money. Isn't it interesting that she filed a civil case before the criminal trial ever got going? She was a money grubbing whore.. if you don't believe it, just ask her BEST friends who said that her goal in life was to sleep with a celebrity and cry rape. They should know since they knew her for years.
Kobe's the bad guy but not Jordan.... oh no, he's as clean as the Hane's underwear he's wearing..... except that he was one of the biggest assholes to ever play the game. I remember one game where he told his teammates not to pass to Bill Cartwright because he had the temerity to shoot instead of passing to His Airness. Not to mention his time with the Wizards when he tormented Kwame Brown because he wasn't living up to his #1 pick status, thus destroying the kid's confidence. Let's also not forget his refusal to play in the Olympics if Isiah was on the team. Now I hate Isiah with a passion but how can there be a "Dream Team" without him?
Not to mention adultery and gambling. Do you really believe he retired to play baseball? No, he was pushed out by David Stern due to his gambling activites. He was the worst kind of a gambler too, a welcher who never paid off his losses.
If you hate Kobe, then you should despise Jordan.
All these Kobe haters are clueless about what really happened. It wasn't Kobe that got Shaq traded. It was Shaq himself who went to the GM and demanded to be traded. Maybe he was bluffing, who knows. But it was a bad time to bluff considering the owner had just about enough of his antics and wanted him gone. Shaq once yelled "PAY ME!" to Buss during an exhibition game because he wasn't satisfied with the $30M he was already making. If that weren't bad enough, he delayed his surgery one season to start of the season because he "got hurt on company time so I'll recover on company time".... missing a month. But I guess it's all Kobe's fault.
Kobe also didn't "rape a teenager".... first of all, she was over 18, which would make her an adult. Secondly, she was so convincing and compelling during a mock trial that the prosecutors dropped the case immediately afterwards, realizing they were just patsies in her scheme to get money. Isn't it interesting that she filed a civil case before the criminal trial ever got going? She was a money grubbing whore.. if you don't believe it, just ask her BEST friends who said that her goal in life was to sleep with a celebrity and cry rape. They should know since they knew her for years.
Kobe's the bad guy but not Jordan.... oh no, he's as clean as the Hane's underwear he's wearing..... except that he was one of the biggest assholes to ever play the game. I remember one game where he told his teammates not to pass to Bill Cartwright because he had the temerity to shoot instead of passing to His Airness. Not to mention his time with the Wizards when he tormented Kwame Brown because he wasn't living up to his #1 pick status, thus destroying the kid's confidence. Let's also not forget his refusal to play in the Olympics if Isiah was on the team. Now I hate Isiah with a passion but how can there be a "Dream Team" without him?
Not to mention adultery and gambling. Do you really believe he retired to play baseball? No, he was pushed out by David Stern due to his gambling activites. He was the worst kind of a gambler too, a welcher who never paid off his losses.
If you hate Kobe, then you should despise Jordan.
Let's do this - admit that the criteria for being the greatest is completely subjective.
Personally, I think Magic & Bird did waaaaaaaaay more in the category of "making their teammates better" than MJ or Kobe has ever done or will ever do. In fact, it is this criteria added to the fact (well, at least fact to me) that on a given night if you needed Magic to perform a certain role, he could do it - be it rebounding, passing or scoring (remember rookie game 7 in 1980 v. Phi, anyone?) that makes him STILL the greatest player of all time in my mind.
If individual, jaw-dropping performances & shots are your cup of tea, then you get to pick between MJ & Kobe. I choose Kobe - others will choose MJ. But to try to separate these two based on who "makes their teammates better" when neither could carry Bird's or Magic's jock in that regard is just plain silly....but, again, that's JMHO.
Personally, I think Magic & Bird did waaaaaaaaay more in the category of "making their teammates better" than MJ or Kobe has ever done or will ever do. In fact, it is this criteria added to the fact (well, at least fact to me) that on a given night if you needed Magic to perform a certain role, he could do it - be it rebounding, passing or scoring (remember rookie game 7 in 1980 v. Phi, anyone?) that makes him STILL the greatest player of all time in my mind.
If individual, jaw-dropping performances & shots are your cup of tea, then you get to pick between MJ & Kobe. I choose Kobe - others will choose MJ. But to try to separate these two based on who "makes their teammates better" when neither could carry Bird's or Magic's jock in that regard is just plain silly....but, again, that's JMHO.
ope:
