Was Kobe Bryant ever the best player in the league?

Desiderium · Post #41 » by **Desiderium** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:41 pm

in terms of longevity, kobe is on my top 5 list. with that many miles on his knees, it's unbelievable he can still run

BJGOAT3 · Post #42 » by **BJGOAT3** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:43 pm

Yes, Kobe Bryant was the indisputable and inarguably the best player in the NBA in 2006 to 2009 the year Lebron James took over. Any respectable basketball authority would say that Kobe was the best player in the NBA from 06 to 09. 05 was the year that he got injured that year was robbed out of Kobe's prime. 2009 was the last year he was arguably the best player, some people still picked Kobe over Lebron in the basketball community however the majority was convinced(rightfully) that Lebron was better yet Kobe was still beasting in the 2009-2010 post-seasons.

Honestly, I don't get how people crown Shaq-Duncan as the indisputable best players of 2001-2003 while they disrespect Kobe in 2006-2009. Kobe in 2001 to 2003 was much better than Kobe's rivals in 2006-2009 imo. Stop disrespecting the man that poured 35.4-5-5 with %56 TS and 31-6-5 with %58 TS in his prime. And if you consider the playoffs and finals in the discussion to diss Kobe from 2006-2008, then don't be a hypocrite by not including his 2009 and 2010 playoff runs.

Collymore · Post #43 » by **Collymore** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:44 pm

MannyRam99 wrote:here we go..

Yep, the thread is getting derailed with facts.

parapooper · Post #44 » by **parapooper** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:45 pm

Scandalouzzzz wrote:in terms of longevity, kobe is on my top 5 list. with that many miles on his knees, it's unbelievable he can still run

not in longevity at the top:
most seasons top5 in win shares:
1. Wilt Chamberlain 13
Karl Malone 13
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 12
4. Michael Jordan 11
5. Oscar Robertson 10
6. Bob Pettit 9
David Robinson 9
Bill Russell 9
9. LeBron James 8
Magic Johnson 8
Tim Duncan 8
John Stockton 8
....
.....
?? Kobe Bryant 4

most seasons top3 in WS:
1. Wilt Chamberlain 11
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 11
Michael Jordan 11
4. Oscar Robertson 8
Karl Malone 8
6. LeBron James 7
7. Larry Bird 6
Dirk Nowitzki 6
9. Tim Duncan 5
Magic Johnson 5
Shaquille O'Neal 5
David Robinson 5
....
....
....
??? Kobe Bryant 0

most seasons top3 in Player Efficiency Rating:
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 12
2. Shaquille O'Neal 11
3. Michael Jordan 10
Wilt Chamberlain 10
5. Jerry West 9
6. Oscar Robertson 8
7. Bob Pettit 7
David Robinson 7
Karl Malone 7
10. LeBron James 6
Larry Bird 6
...
...
?? Kobe Bryant 1

most seasons leading the league in PER:
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* 9
2. Wilt Chamberlain* 8
3. Michael Jordan* 7
4. Shaquille O'Neal 5
LeBron James 5
6. Bob Pettit* 4
7. George Mikan* 3
David Robinson* 3
9. Jerry West* 2
Larry Bird* 2
Kevin Garnett 2
Moses Malone* 2
...
...
??? Kobe Bryant 0

bigrussia · Post #45 » by **bigrussia** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:51 pm

Kobe is unanimously better than everyone from 05-06 to 07-08, regardless of post season success.

pre06: Shaq/Duncan/KG

he was the clearly the best in 06 only (and should've won mvp)
in 07 it's a maybe: kobe or duncan (not dirk)

in 08 he was not the best and should not have won MVP:
MVP: KG, Paul, Lebron, Kobe
Best player: Lebron (finally stepped up the defense to acceptable levels), Paul, Kobe, KG

post08 it's lebron

TRG · Post #46 » by **TRG** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:54 pm

World Peace wrote:2006-2010.

Heat fan06 · Post #47 » by **Heat fan06** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:56 pm

MannyRam99 wrote:
bballcool34 wrote:
MannyRam99 wrote:05-09.

09?

When Lebron had perhaps his greatest season ever?

No.

But yeah, I would say Kobe was the best in 06, with a case in 07, and a smaller one in 08.

Kobe had a better run ... and won.

If you don't use that logic for 06 you can't for 09

MannyRam99 · Post #48 » by **MannyRam99** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:59 pm

bigrussia wrote:
Kobe is unanimously better than everyone from 05-06 to 07-08, regardless of post season success.

pre06: Shaq/Duncan/KG

Shaq in 05 ? no.

KG in 05 ? no.

Duncan ? I'll give you that in the post season I guess, to me Kobe was individually the clear cut best player. T-Mac was neck in neck.

lodom7 · Post #49 » by **lodom7** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:01 pm

Why do people use MVP votes as evidence of anything? MVP isn't really anything but a popularity contest.

MannyRam99 · Post #50 » by **MannyRam99** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:03 pm

Heat fan06 wrote:
If you don't use that logic for 06 you can't for 09

I feel as though the 09' post season showed he was still the best in the league ? no ?

I'm not even tying it to the championship, just the performance alone.

Amare_1_Knicks · Post #51 » by **Amare_1_Knicks** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:08 pm

The first time he stood out as the best was 2002-03. 30/7/6/2. T-Mac led the league in scoring that year and average 6.5RPG and 6.5APG but Kobe shot better percentages and played all nba first team level defense. Duncan won MVP and beat Kobe's Lakers in the playofs that year but he undeniably had the better team.

Then in 2006 when he averaged 35+PPG|5RPG|4.5APG|1.8SPG and brought a team of scrubs to the playoffs and nearly upset the 2nd seeded Suns. 2007 led the league in scoring, brought same team of scrubs back to the playoffs plus elite D.

IMO his MVP season was the last where he was the best in the league. For a couple of seasons it was a debate between him and LBJ but it's been clearly Lebron since about '09.

parapooper · Post #52 » by **parapooper** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:08 pm

MannyRam99 wrote:
Heat fan06 wrote:
If you don't use that logic for 06 you can't for 09
I feel as though the 09' post season showed he was still the best in the league ? no ?

I'm not even tying it to the championship, just the performance alone.

By performance do you mean his 22.8 gamescore against Orlando compared to LeBron's 29.3?
Or his very good overall performance compared to the statistically best extended postseason in NBA history by a huge margin that LeBron had?

kasino · Post #53 » by **kasino** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:08 pm

05-10 imo
he was considered the best during these years players challenged him but it always went back to Kobe
he rampaged the league settled down went to 3 finals and won 2

PER makes Wade better than Duncan/Bird/Moses(I could go on)

IDK enough about Win Shares but Stockton better than Shaq

I do know Kobe produced and it led to winning
his production matched his results

lakerz12 · Post #54 » by **lakerz12** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:10 pm

No he was never the best player in the league. He was just widely considered the best and scored a whole lot of points but that's just because he shot so much and he's such a ball hog and those five championships were just because he had good teammates.

Chosen01 · Post #55 » by **Chosen01** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:12 pm

It's amazing how Kobe homers always contradict themselves to help their arguments.

parapooper · Post #56 » by **parapooper** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:13 pm

Amare_1_Knicks wrote:The first time he stood out as the best was 2002-03. 30/7/6/2. T-Mac led the league in scoring that year and average 6.5RPG and 6.5APG but Kobe shot better percentages and played all nba first team level defense. Duncan won MVP and beat Kobe's Lakers in the playofs that year but he undeniably had the better team.

Now I've heard it all.

World Peace · Post #57 » by **World Peace** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:16 pm

TRG wrote:
World Peace wrote:2006-2010.

Intelligent response.

TripleC · Post #58 » by **TripleC** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:18 pm

World Peace wrote:
TRG wrote:
World Peace wrote:2006-2010.

Intelligent response.

That response is way smarter then you posted :rofl:

clipocketurs · Post #59 » by **clipocketurs** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:23 pm

99-00 Shaq
00-01 Shaq
01-02 Shaq
02-03 McGrady or Shaq
03-04 Garnett or Duncan
04-05 Garnett or Duncan
05-06 Dirk or LeBron
06-07 Wade or Dirk (LeBron had an off year for some reason)
07-08 LeBron (Chris Paul deserved the MVP)
08-09 LeBron
09-10 LeBron
10-11 LeBron
11-12 LeBron

TripleC · Post #60 » by **TripleC** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:24 pm

clipocketurs wrote:99-00 Shaq
00-01 Shaq
01-02 Shaq
02-03 McGrady or Shaq
03-04 Garnett or Duncan
04-05 Garnett or Duncan
05-06 Dirk or LeBron
06-07 Wade or Dirk (LeBron had an off year for some reason)
07-08 LeBron (Chris Paul deserved the MVP)
08-09 LeBron
09-10 LeBron
10-11 LeBron
11-12 LeBron