Kobe=Pistol Pete?

[ByNezzy]

http://slamonline.com/online/2008/08/tr ... be-bryant/

[iamworthy]

Kobe=Kobe
Kobe>Kobe
Kobe<Kobe
Kobe > or = to Kobe
Kobe < or = to Kobe

[DEEP3CL]

Dude.......................

[iamworthy]

Dude.......................

Just a little tired of the Kobe comparisons.

[Slava]

Ok so this guy pretends to be the first one to be comparing Kobe to Pistol Pete? I've heard Phil himself allude to this when talking about Kobe's flamboyance during his first stint with the Lakers. Its also one of the million comparisons that have been made of him since his arrival into the league at one phase or the other.

Pete did revolutionize the game with his flamboyance and flair during a ver yconservative era of basketball but I remeber looking at his stats to find that he always shot a dismal FG% and played superstar ball in an era that emphasized team play and passing the balli into the post catering for the big men to get a high % shot. I just don't remember him being compared to Jerry West much, so may be thats something new.

[Slava]

Also may be Dr. J would be a more interesting comparison to be made for Kobe.

[Erik Eleven]

I can't believe this keeps on being done in the media. Comparisons of players from different eras is a total waste of time, in my opinion. It's just like saying that Van Gogh was better than Picasso, and then trying to back it up with stats. Let them be themselves and enjoy them for who they are.

[tkb]

And even if you're going to compare, Pistol Pete isn't a good comparison at all.

[lakerboy]

And even if you're going to compare, Pistol Pete isn't a good comparison at all.

i was thinking the same thing.i got that he did the comparison because of the one game pete scored 68 points and kobe scored 81,totally different players and style.

[Cboywhitey]

I'm old enough to remember the greats of the past. Let me just throw out two others to put along Jordan and see if anything jumps out at you. Pick the glaring difference. Bird, Magic, Jordan. Did you say athleticism? Jordan will always be in a league of his own even though he played against some of the most skilled players on the planet. He matched their skill level but he was head and shoulders more athletic than most in his time. He had the advantage. There are only a handful of guys that have that advantage today. James is one of them. But that is another topic...

So I guess what I'm saying is this... You can't compare players from different eras. It's just off. Athleticism is the key in my opinion. The sports world loves to talk about the fundamentals. That's great. Rules have changed and guys can't play solid defense anymore. Fine make the excuses to keep your heroes from childhood on top...But I just watched the Olympics and saw basketball teams that were far more superior in fundamentals get crushed by a team that was full of athletic freaks of nature.

I'm so tired of past vs present. It's invalid.

[tsherkin]

That's a fairly ridiculous post.

You neglected to note in your post that the team full of athletic freaks also represented some of the best players the country has to offer... guys who have skill, not just athleticism. If athleticism was all that mattered...

Where's James White? David Noel? Harold Minor?

And why are there so many skills-only players in the league filling specialist roles? Athleticism is helpful because it affords skilled players opportunities they could not otherwise exploit, sure...

But you need look no further than the previous Team USA teams that struggled so badly against those fundamental international teams for a good example of how fundamentals can overcome athleticism. Or how the US had moments where the momentum shifted enough that they could have lost a few times this tournament... or how they didn't face the two most dangerous teams (Argentina and Spain) at full health (Manu, Calderon).

Blech.

[Cboywhitey]

Sherk I think you missed my point. If you notice what I wrote about Jordan I said that he matched the top performers in skill yet he had the athletic advantage as well.

And I did not say that athleticism is all that matters. Read the Jordan remark again. I said when comparing different eras it comes down to athleticism to me. Every new era has been more and more athletic. This to me is why you can't compare past players with present players.

My point was not to bash fundamentals. My point was to show just how much of a difference athleticism makes. And the last team USA was nowhere near as skilled or athletic as this current team USA. They were lacking in both departments. Did you see how many dunks these guys had this year? I think kobe said it best the first game. "I can't remember the last time I had 5 dunks in a game."

I hope I'm making it clear that I am not bashing fundamentals. My two favorite players of all time are Magic and Bird. These two guys are not the picture of athleticism today. But they perfected their skill set and used what they had to their advantage. However they were fairly athletic for their time. I mean they were not Dr. J athletic but they were up there in their prime.