Which of these recent players will ultimately rank above Kobe?

[RoyceDa59]

Jokic and possibly Luka.

Outside chance of Giannis if he pops off for another 3+ titles.

[UcanUwill]

Don't know how more people don't vote Kawhi. Yes his career will go down as very marred by injuries but when he is healthy he has a case for one of the best 2-way players ever. His scoring efficiency is waaay better than Kobe's (he's shooting 53/42/89 this year) and he is at least as clutch. Plus I'd say there aren't any better defenders than him on that list, though you could make a case for Giannis or KG.

Fore sure Kobe had far more longevity and I get that for a lot of people that is a defining factor, but it's not like Kawhi doesn't have a solid resume despite his injuries, with 2 FMVPs and 2 DPOYs. Personally I'd take a healthy Kawhi over Kobe. Am I the only one?

I think you are definitely not the only one, but I believe you definitely would be a minority. And I am not saying your pick is wrong, but thats how I feel who most people would pick, I think most people pick Kobe over Kawhi for sure.

It feels to me like Kawhi never really established himself as generation GOAT caliber player, he is always there, but often he is not even playing at all or coasting a bit. Over the years we had many many takes of people saying that Kawhi is probably the best player in the world at the moment, but it was always rather a corky take. LeBron just always existed and he was reliable one, then Jokic surfaced up, and obviously Durant + Curry where always there.

[dhsilv2]

Don't know how more people don't vote Kawhi. Yes his career will go down as very marred by injuries but when he is healthy he has a case for one of the best 2-way players ever. His scoring efficiency is waaay better than Kobe's (he's shooting 53/42/89 this year) and he is at least as clutch. Plus I'd say there aren't any better defenders than him on that list, though you could make a case for Giannis or KG.

Fore sure Kobe had far more longevity and I get that for a lot of people that is a defining factor, but it's not like Kawhi doesn't have a solid resume despite his injuries, with 2 FMVPs and 2 DPOYs. Personally I'd take a healthy Kawhi over Kobe. Am I the only one?

Even in 2019 he wasn't 100% by the finals. I'd take magical not injured Kawhi over Kobe too, but that version of Kawhi doesn't exist in reality.

[JustBuzzin]

None of those players right now rank above Kobe.

Jokic if he keeps up his play for another few years will eventually pass Kobe.

[Bash1676]

They will not kill him in the poll. For one,Tim duncan consistently had a better team but never won back to back. Duncan was steady but at no time can you say he was tye best player in the leaque. As great as Curry has been,he has always been a sum of all parts! A great player but was never on the level of kobe. An argument can be made that curry dominated in Lebron’s era and should be above lebron. Everyone ate on Lebron’s watch and he started this whole super team thread that damaged the nba brand .

If you ask me, Giannis Antetokunbo and Jokic's championship are worth more than any ring lebron has ever won. Those 2 championships were not super team gang up.

I see how you lebron fans like to minimize Kobe’s career whenever real players that played the game consistently tell you guys Lebron was never on Kobe’s level.. imagine getting owned by michael beasly in practice.you think beasly would've beaten Jordan and kobe in a pick up game ? Infact it was documented a retired Jordan killed him in a pick up game.The miami team underachieved by winning just 2 rings with 4 all of fame players on the team and in their prime.

Lebron wanted no part of Kevin durant in the 2 finals they faced each other. Durant looked him dead in the eye and dropped multiple 3's on him when it was clear,lebron didn't want to guard durant. He was trying to avoid him. Durant annihilated him in all their matchup. Even when they met in the finals when durant was with the thunder. Westbrook and a young harden lost that series to miami. Durant came to play and he had the wrong point guard in westbrrok who doesn’t complement his game. Durant was never going to win a championship with a point guard like westbrook. Heck,lebron had him and missed the playoffs. I will rate lebrom in the 7 to 12 range but not in top 5. Shouting it and repeating it multiple times by his fan boys in the media doesn’t necessarily make it true balco juice or not.

Dude. Kobe is getting spanked by Giannis and Luka in this poll. How do you think he'll fare vs Duncan, Lebron, etc? There was a Curry vs Kobe thread in the last week or so. Curry destroyed Kobe in the poll. This whole post comes off as very out of touch.

Kobe getting spanked by Giannis is laughable.Luka has yet to even make the final and you are already elevating him to the likes of Dirk who i believe is one of the best power forward ever. All this new ear journalist are in clutch sport pockets hence why alot of nba players are pushing back on lebron being the goat or above kobe. We are talking about a guy that got shut down by Jason Terry! Ofcourse,all the old players will win the poll with all you youngees being the majority on the forum. Some just don't even want to entertain the discussion as it is absurd to them.

We are talking about this new era where there is no semblance of defense whatsoever. There are alot of role players that have scored over 50 points within the last few years. That should tell you how easy it is to score in the modern nba. Am sure you are aware of the debacle that was the Allstar game. That prettt much sums it up!

With that being said, Jokic,durant,lukac,giannis,Kawhi,,durant have all been the best players in the nba for quite awhile now. Lebron is playing for stats now and his points are not impactful. There is a reason why the most significant win of the lakers season has been when he sat out. The team were able to playbas a unit on the defensive end as opposed to lebron slacking on defense.

[Roger Murdock]

For todays league is tough…

I think KG and Dirk are two guys who’s game might scale better to the modern NBA

On the other hand Kobe’s efficiency would be much better with more space and he’s more versatile than about anyone. He was also better than Dirk and KG by a decent amount during the same era.

I’d clearly take Jokic over Kobe

I’d consider Luka and Giannis but am not there yet and need to see more consistent playoff play from GA and better team success for Luka

I clearly wouldn’t take Embiid or Leonard. Worse peak, worse track record, and far too unreliable with injuries.

KD just wasn’t as good as Kobe, so no.
SGA requires a wild extrapolation and projected growth trajectory so no. I think Kobe would be a better SGA in todays league

Dirk and KG I lean no but see the argument

[dhsilv2]

We are talking about this new era where there is no semblance of defense whatsoever.

The last two NBA finals were a serious of geek level defensive break down after defensive breakdown posted all over the place. While in the past you might see a team talked about for their "hard nosed defense", these teams had coaches and analysts breaking down the rotations, plays, etc frame by frame for fans to understand. The defensive plans in these series have been great.

[HMFFL]

Jokic will possibly if he wins more chips.

Kobe won his first ring as 21 year old and repeated as a 22 year old.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

[Accurim]

dont know how some of these names are in a poll with kobe with 0/1 ring and limited playoff success.

jokic has the best shot but he'll have to keep up this level of play for multiple years.

[Special_Puppy]

What would it take for a player to surpass Kobe? 3 MVPs and 3 Finals MVPs?

[ropjhk]

Jokic and maybe Giannis and Luka. Everyone else is a clear no for me, though SGA could eventually change my mind.

Embiid, Kawhi and KD have non basketball talent related issues that disqualify them from my list.

Dirk and KG were below Kobe IMO during their playing days.

[iggymcfrack]

FWIW on my all-time list for careers, here’s how the players listed currently stand:

6. KG
11. Jokic
14. Giannis
15. Dirk
21. Kawhi
24. Kobe
25. KD

[One_and_Done]

What would it take for a player to surpass Kobe? 3 MVPs and 3 Finals MVPs?

That's not how we should rank players. Kobe also didn't have that many himself. His 1 MVP was a lifetime achievement award, he shouldn't have finished top 3 that year.

[uncleduck13]

(Soon to be 3x MVP) Jokic wins another title this year and he surpasses a lot of people. Kobe being one of them. Shaq too.

[One_and_Done]

(Soon to be 3x MVP) Jokic wins another title this year and he surpasses a lot of people. Kobe being one of them. Shaq too.

Shaq was best player on 3 title teams with a tonne of longevity at MVP level. He has one season that is among the greatest peaks of all-time. A little early to be putting Jokic over him.

[One_and_Done]

FWIW on my all-time list for careers, here’s how the players listed currently stand:

6. KG
11. Jokic
14. Giannis
15. Dirk
21. Kawhi
24. Kobe
25. KD

Too harsh on KD tbh.

[Johnny Tomala]

FWIW on my all-time list for careers, here’s how the players listed currently stand:

6. KG
11. Jokic
14. Giannis
15. Dirk
21. Kawhi
24. Kobe
25. KD

KG 11th, Kobe 13th, Dirk 15th, the rest not in my top 20.

[CobraCommander]

Is this serious ?

So, basically players with inflated stats and little ( or zero ) championship pedigree can beat one of the top all time players , who was near MJ in 2010 ?

Only Jokic and Giannis have chance - Kobe has 5 rings....these guys playing in the juice ball era of no defense - If you don’t get 4-5 rings you not approaching a guy who is called the mamba

[CobraCommander]

Dudes without rings need not apply. Min of entry will be 2 chips to be in the discussion- 3 for it to be serious

[One_and_Done]

Dudes without rings need not apply. Min of entry will be 2 chips to be in the discussion- 3 for it to be serious

Rings are a team achievement.