"Not bad for the seventh-best player in the league."

FullCircle · Post #1 » by **FullCircle** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:04 am

"Not bad for the seventh-best player in the league," Bryant said, referring to an online ranking of the NBA's top 500 players.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320110013

The media and most RealGM'rs dug this mans grave too early. He's still top three in the league, and I'd still take him over D Rose, Durant, Dirk, Howard, Chis Paul, and maybe Wade since its obvious the man isn't as durable. Kobe is still top three...at the very least.

Doesn't look like he's going away. Gonna be fun to watch.

Dupp · Post #2 » by **Dupp** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:07 am

Lol at top 3 at the very least.

Hes been good though, better than i thought. I think i had him 6th coming into the, hes probably been top 5.

FullCircle · Post #3 » by **FullCircle** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:09 am

Dutuctive Depp wrote:Lol at top 3 at the very least.

Hes been good though, better than i thought. I think i had him 6th coming into the, hes probably been top 5.

Other then Denver, he's been top 2. He's still top three. I had my doubts, but damn it if the man ain't resourceful.

1. James
2. Wade
3. Kobe
4. Dirk
5. Howard

doozyj · Post #4 » by **doozyj** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:10 am

He is still the best. Lets not overrate youth over experience. Mavs just proved this last year.

DS1 · Post #5 » by **DS1** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:11 am

He has, is, and will be great. However none of this matters until May and June as Kobe had told us all, he plays for championships. Thus he is top ten and the matter in which he is rated at the end of the season and the same goes for everyone else will depend on which players and their teams make the most noise in the playoffs.

Jordan-esque · Post #6 » by **Jordan-esque** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:11 am

Apparently Kobe broke an NBA Record tonight...

Most Points Single Game, NBA History - Player at Least 16 Seasons Into Career Season:

#1 Kobe Bryant - 48 points (2011-2012)

#2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 46 points (1985-1986)

#3 Shaquille O'Neal - 45 points (2008-2009)

#4 Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar - 43 points (1984-1985)

Source: Elias Sports Bureau

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bballcool34 · Post #7 » by **bballcool34** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:13 am

doozyj wrote:He is still the best. Lets not overrate youth over experience. Mavs just proved this last year.

...

L3GEND4RY · Post #8 » by **L3GEND4RY** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:15 am

doozyj wrote:He is still the best. Lets not overrate youth over experience. Mavs just proved this last year.

Using subjective opinion and comparing one player to a team; awesome. I don't see him as the best player in the league, but he is top five. I guess it's only a matter of time until the pathetic fanboys come out and confuse opinion with hate yet again..

MJ 23 Chicago · Post #9 » by **MJ 23 Chicago** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:18 am

Still too early into the season. So far he is playing better than I'd have expected, and the 48 point game today was impressive. But lets see if he continues dominating.

smokeylarue · Post #10 » by **smokeylarue** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:20 am

CP3 and Dirk have no business above Kobe in that list. Kobe is still top 5.

SideshowBob · Post #11 » by **SideshowBob** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:20 am

Jordan-esque wrote:Apparently Kobe broke an NBA Record tonight...

Most Points Single Game, NBA History - Player at Least 16 Seasons Into Career Season:

#1 Kobe Bryant - 48 points (2011-2012)

#2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 46 points (1985-1986)

#3 Shaquille O'Neal - 45 points (2008-2009)

#4 Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar - 43 points (1984-1985)

Source: Elias Sports Bureau

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Nice. I can see him taking getting another performance or two on that list

Jordan-esque · Post #12 » by **Jordan-esque** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:20 am

Other interesting stats...

When Kobe scores 40+ points, the Lakers are 74-34 meaning Lakers win 69% of the game which is equivalent to a 57-25 win season.

FullCircle · Post #13 » by **FullCircle** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:20 am

supremacy wrote:
doozyj wrote:He is still the best. Lets not overrate youth over experience. Mavs just proved this last year.

Using subjective opinion and comparing one player to a team; awesome. I don't see him as the best player in the league, but he is top five. I guess it's only a matter of time until the pathetic fanboys come out and confuse opinion with hate yet again..

I don't see how saying he's top 5 is unreasonable, or could be considered hate. But right now the way that he's playing, if you take away the Denver game, I wouldn't take anyone in the league over Kobe other than Lebron. He's been phenomenal.

Long term, we'll see how he holds up, but I'm not anointing the young fellas just yet. Dirk looks old, Dwight is limited, Wade is not durable, Durant is not there yet, neither is D Rose. Who else would you take over Kobe at this point?

CousinOfDeath · Post #14 » by **CousinOfDeath** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:27 am

This is the Kobe I love. It's like 05-06 all over again. He should probably switch back to #8.

Jajwanda · Post #15 » by **Jajwanda** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:28 am

What's often completely skipped over is the discussion of how his role is changing. The days of Kobe being a facilitator are over and that's going to help him have staying power. Despite mileage a healthy Kobe isn't far off that Jordan (post-up game) form of 96-98, especially if he gets someone to facilitate and get him easy shots.

bhartsell · Post #16 » by **bhartsell** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:29 am

FullCircle wrote:Long term, we'll see how he holds up, but I'm not anointing the young fellas just yet. Dirk looks old, Dwight is limited, Wade is not durable, Durant is not there yet, neither is D Rose. Who else would you take over Kobe at this point?

Dwight for sure. Durant. I'm not sure what "is not there yet" means, because that just seems like something arbitrary that is so vague that it has no meaning. I think Durant "is there," or: I think Durant is a better player than Kobe right now.

junot111 · Post #17 » by **junot111** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:30 am

Charlie Villanueva scored 48 once. Not bad for the 246th best player in the league

L3GEND4RY · Post #18 » by **L3GEND4RY** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:33 am

FullCircle wrote:
supremacy wrote:
doozyj wrote:He is still the best. Lets not overrate youth over experience. Mavs just proved this last year.

Using subjective opinion and comparing one player to a team; awesome. I don't see him as the best player in the league, but he is top five. I guess it's only a matter of time until the pathetic fanboys come out and confuse opinion with hate yet again..

I don't see how saying he's top 5 is unreasonable, or could be considered hate. But right now the way that he's playing, if you take away the Denver game, I wouldn't take anyone in the league over Kobe other than Lebron. He's been phenomenal.

Long term, we'll see how he holds up, but I'm not anointing the young fellas just yet. Dirk looks old, Dwight is limited, Wade is not durable, Durant is not there yet, neither is D Rose. Who else would you take over Kobe at this point?

He's been great but it's only been seven games. Not to mention he's doing exactly what he has to. Who else on that roster is going to step up and consistently contribute? Wade, LeBron, and Durant all have much, much better teammates that they can defer to and as a result bring down their numbers across the board. He's benefiting from the situation he's in but then again he is a superstar so it's to be expected. It is what it is.
Why isn't Wade durable? Yeah he had that one season where he missed a huge amount of games but as far as I remember he's missed minimal games the passed few seasons. Don't really see how Durant isn't there yet? At this point I'd probably put Kobe right behind LeBron, Durant and have him almost interchangeable for third with Wade and Dwight.

metalinguss · Post #19 » by **metalinguss** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:36 am

FullCircle wrote:
supremacy wrote:
doozyj wrote:He is still the best. Lets not overrate youth over experience. Mavs just proved this last year.

Using subjective opinion and comparing one player to a team; awesome. I don't see him as the best player in the league, but he is top five. I guess it's only a matter of time until the pathetic fanboys come out and confuse opinion with hate yet again..

I don't see how saying he's top 5 is unreasonable, or could be considered hate. But right now the way that he's playing, if you take away the Denver game, I wouldn't take anyone in the league over Kobe other than Lebron. He's been phenomenal.

Long term, we'll see how he holds up, but I'm not anointing the young fellas just yet. Dirk looks old, Dwight is limited, Wade is not durable, Durant is not there yet, neither is D Rose. Who else would you take over Kobe at this point?

What do you mean by "not there yet"? Rose is an MVP who was the best player on the team with the best record in the East last year and let the Bulls to the ECF only to lose to a team with the best player in the league and Durant is an all-NBA player and multiple time scoring champ who led his team to the WCF only to lose to the eventual champs.This season they are both continuing to play stellar basketball. Do they need to win a ring before they get "there"?

HereWeGoo · Post #20 » by **HereWeGoo** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:36 am

Lol @ downplaying this 48 point game by saying Charlie V. has done it before too.

The fact that he's putting up 29.9 PPG near 46% FG in his 16th season is remarkable. He's avging 36 PPG for his last 5 games on 55% shooting after adjusting his shot too.

He's not a top 10, top 5 or top 3 player. He's a top 2 player. Only player you can argue that is better is Lebron (some will disagree at even that), so gtfo.