Meh ......he needs more time in the gym after practice.....his % is in the toilet this year. Kobe shots too much. Oh wait he's not practicing much.... just shows up once in awhile to terrorize Lin. Congratulations Kobe Bryant What a career!
Congrats to kobe,that was huge milestone...only regret is that he passed him on the ft,if only missed one and scored that 3p after the ft...that would be one of his video highlight momements. But atleast i will remember last night for the long time... I think as soon he made those ft he had malone in his head as next target...
That is something I was talking to my friend about. It's really great that those two can now have two different trajectories and we don't have to compare them anymore. Jordan was the better player overall. I think at this point it's safe to conclude that although there was a time when Kobe challenged that. However, Kobe has played this game for 19 years on the wing. That kind of longevity is amazing. Then when you think about the numbers he's putting up, the moves he's able to make, the shots and the dunks and the layups and the passes... People his age with his mileage don't do this. It's truly, truly remarkable. THAT will be his legacy now. Being the wing player that lasted longer than anybody else at his position and is still putting up numbers that rival the young guns in the league. Out lasting guys like Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, and Tracy McGrady. Fighting young stars like Carmelo and LeBron and Wade throughout their careers. He's the bridge between Jordan and the next phenomenon. Whether that's LeBron or Durant or Davis or maybe even Wiggins or Randle or Parker. He's the guy that bridged that gap, just like Kareem did in his time. Just absolutely spectacular. When it's all said and done, you can pick Jordan as the best SG of all time, but Kobe is not far behind at all. He's right in the conversation. Then you have to wait a long, long time before you come up with any other names. That's really something to be proud of and as fans of the Lakers and just basketball in general, we're blessed to have witnessed this career unfold.
Another note that was taken was that Kobe had a significant amount more 3's than Michael did in his career. Some 1600 v 500. Although Michael was a killer in the midrange, I think MJ made a lot of his living in and around the paint with his strength. Phil always pointed out that Michael was such a strong player and defenders had such a tough time sticking with him. I think Kobe, however, was the better shooter. Yeah, some shots are just ridiculous, but it's just a testament of the work he puts in to practice those types of shots. No one does that. No one asks to be fouled during a shot. No one changes is shot form to accommodate a messed up finger. He looks for advantages and takes them. Michael was more efficient in that sense, and was just plain unstoppable combined with his skill. Kobe worked to get where he was at. People say "it took him 19 season" or "this many games" or "this many missed shots". I say to them, how many players you know have played that many games? Better to lead in missed shots than taking no shots. Kobe's achievement isn't just his point total, it's also recognition of the career he's had up to this point. Longevity, work ethic, and passion. It's pretty much nonexistent in players nowadays. Nowadays, we see franchise players go down with injuries like it's a common occurrence, some even career ending like Brandon Roy. To my knowledge the only season Kobe was pretty much out was the achiiles injury, and that took extreme measures for him to get to that point. And now look him, still playing with the best, as much as it's pains him, he just loves the sport too damn much, and it's a shame what anyone has to say bad about this man. But I couldn't care less about those people. I actually feel bad for them. As a Laker fan, we got to truly "witness" what greatness is. What hard work is. What effort is. What passion is. For 19 years, through ups and downs, he still made the Lakers electrifying. And here's to more, until he hangs em up.
It's crazy. Really, his longevity is insane, and many people just don't understand how impressive it is. He played against the all-time greats of the 90s (Jordan, Payton, Malone, etc.). He outlasted all his competition of the early 2000s (Iverson, McGrady, Kidd, Pierce, etc.). He proceeded to compete against and won championships against the newer generation in the late 2000s (Wade, LeBron, Carmelo, Paul, etc.). He's now competing at a high level in the early 2010s against an even newer generation (Davis, Curry, Durant, etc.).
Very well said real. Although of course in my opinion I still wouldn't declare one better than the other. In fact if I had to pick I'd probably go with Kobe. My feeling is that Jordan is more dominant, and in fact I believe he was the most dominant player I ever saw. In his place and time he was a revolutionary . . . no one had ever seen that combination of size and athleticism and drive at that position. On the other hand, by the time Kobe came into the league, that precedent had been set for the position after Michael changed it. Remember that for most of Michael's career he was guarded by guys like Mitch Richmond, Joe Dumars, John Starks . . . He used his size as a big advantage over those guys. Not taking anything away from Michael and his incredible resume, just bringing it up as another example of the problem with comparing guys of different generations. To me Kobe is the better shooter, better ball handler and passer, and I think he developed a more versatile offensive repertoire, in fact the most complete offensive repertoire I've ever seen. But Jordan was the superior athlete, had bigger hands for more impressive aerial maneuvers, and again, was just flat out more dominant and an absolute pioneer. He also took NBA basketball to its greatest popularity as a sport and transcended the game itself. For these reasons I think he's unrivaled as "the GOAT." But purely on a one on one basis between the two I'd personally take Kobe. Of course, I might be a little biased because Kobe's a Laker. I think defensively the two are basically a wash in their primes. They were both fantastic.
It was just minutes after he broke Jordan's record that a Facebook friend went out of his way to post that Kobe isn't in the conversation with Jordan. By bringing up that discussion, doesn't that essentially put him in the discussion? Some people feel so threatened by Kobe that they just can't appreciate his greatness.
^^ He's absolutely in the discussion with Jordan as far as greatest SG's and all around greatness. He's in the discussion for top 5 players in NBA history - Magic himself said that. Chuck said that too several years ago. He's there. People still want to hate because Kobe is such a polarizing presence. But that doesn't mean they can dismiss what he's accomplished.
Re: Kobe vs. Jordan @lakerjones - Jordan was a more complete player though. More consistent rebounder, a more consistent defender, maybe not as great a passer but still in there. I think when you total their games Jordan comes out a little ahead of Kobe. Not a lot, but a little bit ahead of him. Kobe had to deal with more adversity and Jordan had more continuity, but those are the breaks sometimes. I'm comfortable picking Jordan over Kobe overall. I do agree though that Kobe is by far the best offensive player I've ever seen. He didn't just emulate the previous generation's shots. He studied EVERY generation. EVERY high level scorer in this league (and a few lower level ones) he took from. He took their shots, perfected them, and made them his own. Hooks, threes, post ups, fade aways, one-dribble-pull-up jumpers, crossovers, off-hand shots, floaters. He has everything and when he got hot, he got hotter than any perimeter player I've ever seen or I think will ever see. Not even Jordan could heat up the way Kobe did in his prime. Sixty points in three quarters, outscoring the Mavs. Eighty-one points on the Raptors. Kobe offensively is the best Shooting Guard to ever play this game, just completely unstoppable.
Great post real. I'll still take Kobe by a nose. But that's the great thing, when you take away the extracurricular, other worldly aspects like the fact that Jordan came first and was the originator (non basketball things) and revolutionized the NBA - I think you're left with a debate. And it's a lot closer in terms of pure basketball discussion than many are willing to credit. Maybe Jordan is the better all around player, maybe Kobe was the better offensive player. Jordan was more efficient, more dominant - but I will also argue that the playing field wasn't level on that because of Jordan revolutionizing the position with his size and using that wisely to his advantage. I agree with you on Kobe being the most superb offensive talent/student of the game I've ever seen, too. I've never seen anyone with that large of an arsenal and the ability to utilize it on such an intense level. Jordan's numbers will always give him the edge in any debate but again, I think it's much closer than a guy like Skip Bayless will ever give credit for.
Check this out, I absolutely love the anology that Kobe makes about father time calling him to bed and brushing your teeth along with all the examples he gives on trying to delay bedtime. So true and so many awesome quotes. http://www.theplayerstribune.com/kobe-passes-jordan/
In all seriousness, from my perspective as a long time Lakers fan who thinks Kobe is the greatest Laker of all the transcendent great players we have been blessed to be able to cheer for ..... there are some brilliant posts here in the past few pages of Kobe's thread since he passed Mike on the all time scoring list. If I wasn't on my cell I would be reaching over to Clublakers for my favorite emoticons in tribute to all you guys. Major props! Goose bump time reading terrific descriptions of his unparalleled career.
