Oscar v. Kobe
Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2022 9:22 pm
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.
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.