Oscar v. Kobe

[countryboy667]

I see people are complaining that Oscar Robertson is rated higher than Kobe Bryant on the 75 greatest players list.

Just my opinion--and I know this will cause outrage, but I'm sincerely not just trying to be a jerk when I say this--Kobe doesn't even belong in the top ten. And remember, I've seen them both, unlike a lot of posters here on RealGM. There have simply been way too many other great players that IMO were as good or better than Kobe. They didn't win as many titles because they weren't gifted with the premiere players Kobe was fortunate enough to team with. Basket ball is, after all, still a TEAM game.

Yes, Oscar only won one championship--maybe that's because, unlike Kobe, for the greatest part of his career he didn't have the luxury of playing with one of the greatest big men of all time. For you younger fans who may not understand this, unlike today, in Oscar's era, in the overwhelming majority of cases, TEAMS SIMPLY DIDN'T WIN TITLES without having a premiere big man on the team. That's FACT, not just an opinion. Look at the list of title teams at least through the late 80s. How many of them lacked a star big? When he teamed with Jabbar, Oscar punched the ticket. Kareem has been profuse in his praise of the Big O.

He also didn't have the advantage of playing in a big-time glamor market like LA. He also lacked the perverse but real "advantage" of garnering widespread sympathy for sadly being killed in a tragic accident. I've often wondered how great Lou Gehrig's legacy would be--great player yes, but clearly second fiddle to Babe Ruth--if he hadn't died tragically the way he did from ALS.

As for Oscar, how would many of today's fans know enough about him to fairly judge him? Having seen both, I would rate Oscar better overall. For younger fans, recency bias is definitely a factor.

Yeah, I'm old, so what do I know? After all, I think today's three-ball game totally sucks, and I've been vocal about it.

But still, as I said, I'm not posting this to be a jackass or just to stir up trouble, maybe just to add a little perspective. Please take it in that spirit.

[bubonicphoniks]

I see people are complaining that Oscar Robertson is rated higher than Kobe Bryant on the 75 greatest players list.

Just my opinion--and I know this will cause outrage, but I'm sincerely not just trying to be a jerk when I say this--Kobe doesn't even belong in the top ten. And remember, I've seen them both, unlike a lot of posters here on RealGM. There have simply been way too many other great players that IMO were as good or better than Kobe. They didn't win as many titles because they weren't gifted with the premiere players Kobe was fortunate enough to team with. Basket ball is, after all, still a TEAM game.

Yes, Oscar only won one championship--maybe that's because, unlike Kobe, for the greatest part of his career he didn't have the luxury of playing with one of the greatest big men of all time. For you younger fans who may not understand this, unlike today, in Oscar's era, in the overwhelming majority of cases, TEAMS SIMPLY DIDN'T WIN TITLES without having a premiere big man on the team. That's FACT, not just an opinion. Look at the list of title teams at least through the late 80s. How many of them lacked a star big? When he teamed with Jabbar, Oscar punched the ticket. Kareem has been profuse in his praise of the Big O.

He also didn't have the advantage of playing in a big-time glamor market like LA. He also lacked the perverse but real "advantage" of garnering widespread sympathy for sadly being killed in a tragic accident. I've often wondered how great Lou Gehrig's legacy would be--great player yes, but clearly second fiddle to Babe Ruth--if he hadn't died tragically the way he did from ALS.

As for Oscar, how would many of today's fans know enough about him to fairly judge him? Having seen both, I would rate Oscar better overall. For younger fans, recency bias is definitely a factor.

Yeah, I'm old, so what do I know? After all, I think today's three-ball game totally sucks, and I've been vocal about it.

But still, as I said, I'm not posting this to be a jackass or just to stir up trouble, maybe just to add a little perspective. Please take it in that spirit.

You don't have to knock Kobe to praise Oscar old man.

[GeorgeMarcus]

I have Oscar ahead too, but both are in my 11-15 range

[No-more-rings]

Most of the PC board has Kobe out of the top 10 and below Oscar. Not sure why this rant would be posted here of all places.

[countryboy667]

Most of the PC board has Kobe out of the top 10 and below Oscar. Not sure why this rant would be posted here of all places.

There was an article I saw on Google that said there was a ton of outrage that Kobe was rated below Oscar. That's why I posted here.

Also, I believe Kobe belongs somewhere in the 75, but I think where he played, the number of rings he helped win (greatly aided by one Shaquille O'Neal), and the recency bias has him somewhat higher than he deserves.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/nba_fans_roast_espns_75_greatest_players_list_for_disrespecting_kobe_bryant_its_sad_to_see/s1_16751_37238158

While Kobe was a great scorer, that doesn't necessarily equate to being a great all-around player--which Robertson was--and I'm not alone in that assessment.

https://sports.yahoo.com/heres-why-didnt-rank-kobe-130018255.html

And--as noted (with obvious intent to be disrespectful) by another poster in this thread I am an old man--and as such I do get irked at seeing the old timers--like Oscar, Wilt and others--so casually and callously disrespected by some people who never saw them play and who seem to think the whole world sprang into existence with the entrance of their august selves into it.

[70sFan]

Oscar and Kobe are within the same tier for me. I prefer Oscar personally, just more efficient offensive player but Bryant is a good choice as well.

[Dutchball97]

That ranking was so bad all around there is little use getting into every single wrong placing, just no internal consistency. As to Kobe vs Oscar, I do think they're on a similar tier but I have Kobe ahead due to Oscar's relative lack of post-season success. It isn't really about titles to me but to be a top 10 player I'd personally prefer players who had more deep runs in the post-season. Same reason I'm one of the few here on the PC board who doesn't see KG as a top 10 player either.

[Asianiac_24]

Neither of them deserves to be top 10, and LeBron should be above MJ. Iverson is way too high