AdagioPace wrote:Cavsfansince84 wrote:It's very, very easy to see why Kobe would be seen as above West and Oscar by the regular bb community(including ex players going back to the 90's). Because even if you look beyond accolades and rings(which puts Kobe ahead of both for the most part) there is also era bias working against Oscar/West on top of recency bias and Kobe probably being the biggest icon between MJ and LeBron. The only way anyone would have Oscar or West ahead is if they grew up watching them or is really dedicated to doing research and has no bias against that era of bb.
In order to appreciate Oscar and West you need to dig a bit deeper than you need for Kareem/Wilt/Russell (who enjoy stories and legends about them). West and Oscar are still alive for now. West is a famous character in californian basketball while Oscar is proto-lebron/westbrook. Someday both will end up like Sam Jones and Bob Cousy and disappear from mainstream media.
in 50 years how many people will remember Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul or Steve Nash?
Wade will get marginalized and disrespected as he has been throughout his career but doubt he'll ever be forgotten ala Cousy.
