Kobe Bryant Athleticism

[LakerLegend]

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[LakerLegend]

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[LakerLegend]

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[LakerLegend]

Keep in mind, Kobe played in an era where players were bulked up due to physicality and pace of the game. If he played today or in the 80s he’s be a lot leaner and even more explosive and bouncy.

[LakerLegend]

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[Young_Buc]

Kobe's athletic ability was "sort of" overlooked because he came up in an era of "Next Jordans" and dominant swing players. I'd rank the most athletic players of Kobe's career as

Tier 1. (Freaks: 1 of 1s)
MJ
Vince
LeBron
Shaq
Iverson
Barkley

Tier 2. (Specimens)
McGrady
Wade
Westbrook
Rose
Giannis
Dominique
Kemp

Tier 3. (Elite Athletes)
KG
Penny
Kobe
Drexler
Grant Hill
Dwight Howard

[Young_Buc]

Kobe's athletic ability was "sort of" overlooked because he came up in an era of "Next Jordans" and dominant swing players. I'd rank the most athletic players of Kobe's career as

Tier 1. (Freaks: 1 of 1s)
MJ
Vince
LeBron
Shaq
Iverson
Barkley

Tier 2. (Specimens)
McGrady
Wade
Westbrook
Rose
Giannis
Dominique
Kemp

Tier 3. (Elite Athletes)
KG
Penny
Kobe
Drexler
Grant Hill
Dwight Howard

[Pelly24]

Kobe's athletic ability was "sort of" overlooked because he came up in an era of "Next Jordans" and dominant swing players. I'd rank the most athletic players of Kobe's career as

Tier 1. (Freaks: 1 of 1s)
MJ
Vince
LeBron
Shaq
Iverson
Barkley

Tier 2. (Specimens)
McGrady
Wade
Westbrook
Rose
Giannis
Dominique
Kemp

Tier 3. (Elite Athletes)
KG
Penny
Kobe
Drexler
Grant Hill
Dwight Howard

Yeah, you see, I'd easily rank Kobe over Vince Carter, Dominique Wilkins and at least as athletic as Kemp and McGradfy.

It's been talked about a lot, but Kobe's all-around kinesthesia and agility and flexibility/ability to change directions and contort his body, in conjunction with his reflexes and core strength are all at G.O.A.T. levels, while his bounce and speed/quickness were at *elite* levels. Really, almost no one has had all of those attributes in that way. The only guys I can think of are MJ and LeBron, give or take a few things to different extents (LeBron elite agility/functional athleticism, but not to the same extent as Kobe MJ, but more power...MJ, more speed and more bounce). Dominique, Kemp, guys like that just didn't have that same functionality. Kobe could've been a Wide receiver or a cornerback at high major D-1 levels if not NFL. DWade and MJ are the two lone SGs I see as definitely being more athletic than Kobe. Maybe Anthony Edwards.

[DNice68]

Kobe's athletic ability was "sort of" overlooked because he came up in an era of "Next Jordans" and dominant swing players. I'd rank the most athletic players of Kobe's career as

Tier 1. (Freaks: 1 of 1s)
MJ
Vince
LeBron
Shaq
Iverson
Barkley

Tier 2. (Specimens)
McGrady
Wade
Westbrook
Rose
Giannis
Dominique
Kemp

Tier 3. (Elite Athletes)
KG
Penny
Kobe
Drexler
Grant Hill
Dwight Howard

Drexler at 6’7 222 pounds, as fast and high leaping as he was(he dunked from the free throw line game), was a freak imo.

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[Masigond]

The difference between Jordan and Drexler is skills, not athleticism. Jordan was a way better shooter, especially from midrange, and he had better hands and could dribble much better. Furthermore he was the smarter player. He might have had better body control, but in terms of raw athleticism they were quite comparable.

[DNice68]

The difference between Jordan and Drexler is skills, not athleticism. Jordan was a way better shooter, especially from midrange, and he had better hands and could dribble much better. Furthermore he was the smarter player. He might have had better body control, but in terms of raw athleticism they were quite comparable.

Yep!

[LakerLegend]

A few years back, the Lakers coaching staff concluded Bryant and Jordan were much alike, almost eerie, in fact, when it came to the alpha male qualities of their competitive natures.

Kobe and Michael were ruthless when it came to winning, everyone agreed.

And their skills were similar.

Except Michael's hands were larger.

The major difference between the two came with college experience. Jordan had played in a basketball system for Dean Smith at North Carolina, thus he was better prepared to play within a team concept.

Winter says they're both very much alike:

"They both display tremendous reaction, quickness and jumping ability. Both have a good shooting touch.

https://www.espn.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/3183/tex-winter-compares-kobe-bryant-and-michael-jordan

[LakerLegend]

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[Heej]

Kobe's athletic ability was "sort of" overlooked because he came up in an era of "Next Jordans" and dominant swing players. I'd rank the most athletic players of Kobe's career as

Tier 1. (Freaks: 1 of 1s)
MJ
Vince
LeBron
Shaq
Iverson
Barkley

Tier 2. (Specimens)
McGrady
Wade
Westbrook
Rose
Giannis
Dominique
Kemp

Tier 3. (Elite Athletes)
KG
Penny
Kobe
Drexler
Grant Hill
Dwight Howard

Yeah, you see, I'd easily rank Kobe over Vince Carter, Dominique Wilkins and at least as athletic as Kemp and McGradfy.

It's been talked about a lot, but Kobe's all-around kinesthesia and agility and flexibility/ability to change directions and contort his body, in conjunction with his reflexes and core strength are all at G.O.A.T. levels, while his bounce and speed/quickness were at *elite* levels. Really, almost no one has had all of those attributes in that way. The only guys I can think of are MJ and LeBron, give or take a few things to different extents (LeBron elite agility/functional athleticism, but not to the same extent as Kobe MJ, but more power...MJ, more speed and more bounce). Dominique, Kemp, guys like that just didn't have that same functionality. Kobe could've been a Wide receiver or a cornerback at high major D-1 levels if not NFL. DWade and MJ are the two lone SGs I see as definitely being more athletic than Kobe. Maybe Anthony Edwards.

This so much!! The "kinesthesia" as you put it, or what I refer to as fluidity and coordination, is the most underrated athletic trait imo and Kobe's sense of this is his most underrated aspect. I personally think he was more fluid than MJ, and for his size there's never been anyone comparable. Also I appreciate the Anthony Edwards inclusion. That kid is a BEAST. Can't imagine what him and Zion are like when they completely fill out in a few years as far as musculature and bone density goes.

[Pelly24]

Kobe's athletic ability was "sort of" overlooked because he came up in an era of "Next Jordans" and dominant swing players. I'd rank the most athletic players of Kobe's career as

Tier 1. (Freaks: 1 of 1s)
MJ
Vince
LeBron
Shaq
Iverson
Barkley

Tier 2. (Specimens)
McGrady
Wade
Westbrook
Rose
Giannis
Dominique
Kemp

Tier 3. (Elite Athletes)
KG
Penny
Kobe
Drexler
Grant Hill
Dwight Howard

Yeah, you see, I'd easily rank Kobe over Vince Carter, Dominique Wilkins and at least as athletic as Kemp and McGradfy.

It's been talked about a lot, but Kobe's all-around kinesthesia and agility and flexibility/ability to change directions and contort his body, in conjunction with his reflexes and core strength are all at G.O.A.T. levels, while his bounce and speed/quickness were at *elite* levels. Really, almost no one has had all of those attributes in that way. The only guys I can think of are MJ and LeBron, give or take a few things to different extents (LeBron elite agility/functional athleticism, but not to the same extent as Kobe MJ, but more power...MJ, more speed and more bounce). Dominique, Kemp, guys like that just didn't have that same functionality. Kobe could've been a Wide receiver or a cornerback at high major D-1 levels if not NFL. DWade and MJ are the two lone SGs I see as definitely being more athletic than Kobe. Maybe Anthony Edwards.

This so much!! The "kinesthesia" as you put it, or what I refer to as fluidity and coordination, is the most underrated athletic trait imo and Kobe's sense of this is his most underrated aspect. I personally think he was more fluid than MJ, and for his size there's never been anyone comparable. Also I appreciate the Anthony Edwards inclusion. That kid is a BEAST. Can't imagine what him and Zion are like when they completely fill out in a few years as far as musculature and bone density goes.

Yup. Body control and all that are so important. I would say the only player *definitely* more fluid than Kobe is Kyrie, who is three inches shorter than Kobe. For Kobe to be that fluid at his size was just insanity. That's why he never looked awkward pulling off all those dribble moves into dunks. It was always so seamless. Most guys don't have that, they're more like...forwards. Kobe had the agility of a small guard.

And yeah man, Anthony Edwards' physical ability is something I haven't seen in a while — besides Zion, who is basically a 300-pound MJ in terms of body control, one-foot-two-foot bounce and ability to change directions. AE will be an all star for years pretty soon.

[TK Smart]

Kobe's athletic ability was "sort of" overlooked because he came up in an era of "Next Jordans" and dominant swing players. I'd rank the most athletic players of Kobe's career as

Tier 1. (Freaks: 1 of 1s)
MJ
Vince
LeBron
Shaq
Iverson
Barkley

Tier 2. (Specimens)
McGrady
Wade
Westbrook
Rose
Giannis
Dominique
Kemp

Tier 3. (Elite Athletes)
KG
Penny
Kobe
Drexler
Grant Hill
Dwight Howard

Yeah, you see, I'd easily rank Kobe over Vince Carter, Dominique Wilkins and at least as athletic as Kemp and McGradfy.

It's been talked about a lot, but Kobe's all-around kinesthesia and agility and flexibility/ability to change directions and contort his body, in conjunction with his reflexes and core strength are all at G.O.A.T. levels, while his bounce and speed/quickness were at *elite* levels. Really, almost no one has had all of those attributes in that way. The only guys I can think of are MJ and LeBron, give or take a few things to different extents (LeBron elite agility/functional athleticism, but not to the same extent as Kobe MJ, but more power...MJ, more speed and more bounce). Dominique, Kemp, guys like that just didn't have that same functionality. Kobe could've been a Wide receiver or a cornerback at high major D-1 levels if not NFL. DWade and MJ are the two lone SGs I see as definitely being more athletic than Kobe. Maybe Anthony Edwards.

Zach Lavine is definitely more athletic than Kobe. And it's really crazy that in these topics of elite freak athletes the guy who went windmill and between the legs from the free throw line is always left out.

[Pelly24]

Kobe's athletic ability was "sort of" overlooked because he came up in an era of "Next Jordans" and dominant swing players. I'd rank the most athletic players of Kobe's career as

Tier 1. (Freaks: 1 of 1s)
MJ
Vince
LeBron
Shaq
Iverson
Barkley

Tier 2. (Specimens)
McGrady
Wade
Westbrook
Rose
Giannis
Dominique
Kemp

Tier 3. (Elite Athletes)
KG
Penny
Kobe
Drexler
Grant Hill
Dwight Howard

Yeah, you see, I'd easily rank Kobe over Vince Carter, Dominique Wilkins and at least as athletic as Kemp and McGradfy.

It's been talked about a lot, but Kobe's all-around kinesthesia and agility and flexibility/ability to change directions and contort his body, in conjunction with his reflexes and core strength are all at G.O.A.T. levels, while his bounce and speed/quickness were at *elite* levels. Really, almost no one has had all of those attributes in that way. The only guys I can think of are MJ and LeBron, give or take a few things to different extents (LeBron elite agility/functional athleticism, but not to the same extent as Kobe MJ, but more power...MJ, more speed and more bounce). Dominique, Kemp, guys like that just didn't have that same functionality. Kobe could've been a Wide receiver or a cornerback at high major D-1 levels if not NFL. DWade and MJ are the two lone SGs I see as definitely being more athletic than Kobe. Maybe Anthony Edwards.

Zach Lavine is definitely more athletic than Kobe. And it's really crazy that in these topics of elite freak athletes the guy who went windmill and between the legs from the free throw line is always left out.

I think Kobe was quicker and way better at changing directions, and some stats speak to this. Kobe got to the line for an average of 9.5 free throw attempts per game between 2004 and 2008 on average, peaking at over 10 attempts per game. Lavine's gotten to the line for 5.6 attempts per game. And mind you, Kobe was doing this during a more difficult defensive era with big men being stationed near the rim more regularly. Kobe's attempts would likely have gotten up to 11 or 12 with the rules that were in place up until this year, and even this year, he'd still get a bunch of free throw attempts. Zach obviously gets far less free throw attempts. Zach is not nearly the slasher Kobe was. Part of that is due to handle, but he also lacks the lateral quickness and ability to change directions that Kobe had. It's more than dunks, and even then, Kobe's in-game dunks are much more impressive on average than Lavine's. Kobe dunked on Dwight Howard, Yao Ming and Tim Duncan. He'd take off on the baseline and just do a crazy reverse double pump dunk with no problem. Sure he couldn't take off from the free throw line and windmill like Lavine, but Lavine can't stay in front of people on defense like Kobe. Kobe was so quick and shifty and balanced that he could literally stay in front of the fastest players in the league at all times if he wanted to. He was one of the best defenders in the league. Zach has usually been one of the worst. I think some of that I Kobe's athletic advantage.

In all, Kobe has far superior lateral quickness whether playing on defense or driving to the rim. Kobe was stronger. Kobe had better reflexes. Kobe was a better athlete than Lavine. If Lavine hadn't been in the dunk contest, no one would consider him to be one of the best athletes of all time. He's not close to as athletic as Michael Jordan was, just watching film.

[LakerLegend]

If Kobe played in this era or the 80's he'd be leaner and more explosive and bouncy, the prime of his career was played in an era where players were bulked up due to physicality and pace.

[LakerLegend]

Here's some more Jordan stuff since everyone's using him as a baseline for all the player comparisons, keep in mind some of these framerates are all over the place:

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[TK Smart]

Yeah, you see, I'd easily rank Kobe over Vince Carter, Dominique Wilkins and at least as athletic as Kemp and McGradfy.

It's been talked about a lot, but Kobe's all-around kinesthesia and agility and flexibility/ability to change directions and contort his body, in conjunction with his reflexes and core strength are all at G.O.A.T. levels, while his bounce and speed/quickness were at *elite* levels. Really, almost no one has had all of those attributes in that way. The only guys I can think of are MJ and LeBron, give or take a few things to different extents (LeBron elite agility/functional athleticism, but not to the same extent as Kobe MJ, but more power...MJ, more speed and more bounce). Dominique, Kemp, guys like that just didn't have that same functionality. Kobe could've been a Wide receiver or a cornerback at high major D-1 levels if not NFL. DWade and MJ are the two lone SGs I see as definitely being more athletic than Kobe. Maybe Anthony Edwards.

Zach Lavine is definitely more athletic than Kobe. And it's really crazy that in these topics of elite freak athletes the guy who went windmill and between the legs from the free throw line is always left out.

I think Kobe was quicker and way better at changing directions, and some stats speak to this. Kobe got to the line for an average of 9.5 free throw attempts per game between 2004 and 2008 on average, peaking at over 10 attempts per game. Lavine's gotten to the line for 5.6 attempts per game. And mind you, Kobe was doing this during a more difficult defensive era with big men being stationed near the rim more regularly. Kobe's attempts would likely have gotten up to 11 or 12 with the rules that were in place up until this year, and even this year, he'd still get a bunch of free throw attempts. Zach obviously gets far less free throw attempts. Zach is not nearly the slasher Kobe was. Part of that is due to handle, but he also lacks the lateral quickness and ability to change directions that Kobe had. It's more than dunks, and even then, Kobe's in-game dunks are much more impressive on average than Lavine's. Kobe dunked on Dwight Howard, Yao Ming and Tim Duncan. He'd take off on the baseline and just do a crazy reverse double pump dunk with no problem. Sure he couldn't take off from the free throw line and windmill like Lavine, but Lavine can't stay in front of people on defense like Kobe. Kobe was so quick and shifty and balanced that he could literally stay in front of the fastest players in the league at all times if he wanted to. He was one of the best defenders in the league. Zach has usually been one of the worst. I think some of that I Kobe's athletic advantage.

In all, Kobe has far superior lateral quickness whether playing on defense or driving to the rim. Kobe was stronger. Kobe had better reflexes. Kobe was a better athlete than Lavine. If Lavine hadn't been in the dunk contest, no one would consider him to be one of the best athletes of all time. He's not close to as athletic as Michael Jordan was, just watching film.

So here's Zach's combine numbers https://www.nba.com/celtics/draft/profile-lavine

Those lane agility and shuttle run numbers put him in the top 5 in both categories in just about every measured combine. Kobe was definitely a stronger person than Zach and could absorb contact much better, but Zach's change of direction and lateral quickness are elite by any measure, are there any numbers to back up your claims that Kobe blows him away? Because everything I see Zach do on the court looks smooth and effortless almost like Kobe's with a touch more quickness...he doesn't lack there at all in terms of pure athleticism. Most of what you mentioned here, to me, seems to be more of a reflection of Kobe's natural IQ/instincts and superior ballhandling ability (which to me is top 3 at his position), as opposed to raw athletic ability. Like the defense argument, I think if you put Kobe's basketball mind inside of Zach's body you'd get a better defender than what Kobe was. While yes Kobe's elite athleticism gave him the traits necessary to stay in front of people, you still need the IQ/effort/mindset to do it which is Zach's biggest knock.